The Secret Child
by CherryHearts13
Summary: While out on a late night patrol, an unsuspecting shinobi of Konoha stumbles upon a lost child. What he does not know is that the little girl is more than just a stranger, and worms her way into the hearts of many. This child is a lot more trouble than she seems, and shakes up the calm of the Hidden Leaf. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

**To any of you who have read my other story, Stupid Mooching Kittens (SMK), this is the alternate universe. You know the one that Kim told Kakashi about at the end of the story. Yeah, this is it. **

**To those who have never read, SMK, then that is fine. There is nothing that you need to know from the other story to be able to read this one, but you can read it if you want. In fact, I encourage you to.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and this will be the only time I will ever say this.**

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CHAPTER ONE

The moon shone brightly like a beacon in the starless night sky. All around the village, everything was remarkably silent. Animals and civilians alike were tucked away, warm and cozy, in their beds. The village was, for once, completely at peace since the Third Shinobi World War ended.

Some skeptics could not help but wonder if what they were experiencing was, as the cliché goes, the calm before the storm. They had the feeling that something possibly life changing was about to happen, though they did not know if it was for the better or for the worse. All they really knew was that something big was coming. The others, who were enjoying the peace and not questioning anything, silently hoped that nothing would come along and disrupt the calm that had settled over the Hidden Leaf.

Shinobi walked along the outer walls waiting for something, anything, to happen. They had been getting bored as of late ever since the village fell into a state of peace. Though they could not deny that they were grateful that there was no immediate danger to their beloved village, they could not help but long for the rush of battle.

A lone figure walked around the village looking for any signs of trouble. The figure was unmistakably male. He had had short, black hair that reached to his shoulders and obsidian eyes. He wore the standard green flak jacket, with a black shirt that had the Konoha Military Police Force symbol on the shoulders, shin-guards and a black open-front apron with white diamonds on the bottom. There was a stern look on his face, which made the creases underneath his eyes become more pronounced, as he let his gaze roam over the quiet village. The man realized that he would find nothing amiss on such a calm and peaceful night, and began to make his way home knowing that his beloved wife would be waiting up for him, even though it was well into the night.

With the thought of surprising his wife with his arrival, he rounded the corner. On a whim, he had taken the long way home. Walking passed the stretch of forest on the outskirts of the village he heard ruffling in the foliage. With the grace of a cat, the dark haired man stealthily made his way into the trees. Hoping onto the nearest branch, he made his way towards the source of all the noise. He was ready to reprimand the group of genin that he was sure was messing around, only to be infuriated that he had let his guard down. He was the captain of the military police force; he could not afford to let his guard down.

Down below him were three ninja, and if their forehead protectors were anything to go by, they were shinobi from Kumogakure, the Village Hidden in the Clouds. From his vantage point up in the tree, he could see that they were after something though he did not know exactly what it was. He knew that the Hidden Leaf had not allied with the Hidden Cloud and he was not informed that there would be any Kumo-nin wandering around the village.

"Where did it go," the female of the group whispered aggressively to her teammates. A scowl of frustration etched onto her lovely face. She had shoulder length white hair, and smooth chocolate brown skin. "Raikage-sama will not be pleased if another country were to find out about this."

Interest piqued, the dark eyed man slunk back into the shadows waiting to hear more. He took out a kunai from its holster on his right leg, and gripped it in his hand. As he listened, he discovered that something had gone wrong with a jutsu that the Raikage was working on and the outcome of it had somehow made its way into Konoha.

A sneeze echoed out into the forest, causing the Kumo-nin to fall silent and become alert. They scanned the surrounding forest from where they stood. Soon the three had decided to separate and find the source of the sneeze. The man was stumped. What kind of ninja allowed their position to be given away by a mere sneeze?

He figured it would be best to deal with the Kumo-nin first before going after the source of the sneeze. Silently he moved from tree to tree going after the bigger of the two men. Once the man was spotted, he let a barrage of kunai rain down on the unsuspecting man. Though the man was large, that did not hinder his speed. The dark eyed man wanted to finish the fight quickly, and did just that. Flashing behind the ninja he quickly slit his throat, and then turned and ran towards the other male.

The female of the group seemed to have all the information about what had happened, while the other two seemed to know very little. The second male was found heading in the direction of the Hyuga Compound. With a well-aimed shuriken, the second man was taken out. Pivoting on his foot mid stride, the man ran in the direction where he sensed the female of the group.

Breaking into the clearing where the Kumo-nin were once gathered he paused when he heard what sounded like crying. Letting his gaze flicker around the area he searched for the cries, but heard nothing. When he was about to run out of the clearing he heard the cries again. Paying rapt attention to detail, he scanned the area once again. That time was a success fore he saw movement at the base of one of the lager trees. Looking closer he realized that there was a child hidden within the roots.

The man became slightly afraid, not for himself but for the small child. There was a Kumo-nin still within the forest, and she could easily harm the child. Not to mention if there was a battle then the child would possibly be killed. He needed to find a way to remove the child from the area without drawing attention to them.

Walking closer he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a look of fear wash over the child's features as he approached her. He was shocked that she had raised a kunai in defense. From what he could tell, the child was female, and judging from her size, was no older than a year. She wore a pale yellow sundress that was ripped and torn in various places. He could also see there were a few scrapes, cuts, and bruises scattered around her small body. The look of fear in her eyes almost overwhelmed him. She was so young. She should have not have felt fear on that level.

Crouching down, so as not to scare her with his larger stature, he spread out his arms and allowed his eyes to soften. A friendly smile made its way onto his face.

"Come on out of there, and I'll take you back to your parents," he spoke to her softly. She took a small step forward before changing her mind and ran away instead. The man's eyes widened. Jumping back up to his feet he ran after the little girl. He caught up to her in less than a second. Scooping her up into his arms, he had to bite back a yelp of pain as her little arm swung and slashed at his cheek with the kunai she held. After a bit of struggling, he finally managed to pry the kunai from her surprisingly strong grip without hurting her. The little girl stiffened when she realized what she had done to the strange man.

"Sowwy," she said softly. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears as she stared at the injury she had caused the man. There was a thin slash across his right cheek. Her lip began to quiver.

"It's alright little one," the man spoke softly. When the tears fell from her eyes, he gently wiped them away with his thumb. "I'm not going to hurt you." When she finally calmed down, he continued. "I need to get you out of here. It's not safe for you." She nodded again staring straight into his eyes. Reaching up a tiny hand, she rested it over his right eye.

"Pwetty," she mumbled. The man blinked his eyes and reopened them. "It gon'," the child cried out astonished. Again, he closed his eyes and opened them again. "Magic," she lisped out when his eyes returned to their glowing red color. The man chuckled at her innocence.

"What's you name little one," he asked her.

"Kim," she replied quietly still observing his eyes.

"Well hello Kim, I'm Fugaku," he introduced himself to the child. "Now let's get you back to where you belong."

**XxX**

From above the white haired Kumo-nin watched the scene play out. Of all the people to stumble upon the child, Fugaku Uchiha was the last person she expected. He had taken down her partners with ease. A slow grin spread across her face as she brought her hand up in a seal. The jutsu was released, and the henge faded away. Short white hair grew into long black hair, chocolate colored skin turned pale, brown eyes turned snake-like, and the feminine features turned masculine.

"Everything is going according to plan, although Fugaku finding her will make things all the more interesting," he whispered to himself. He then let out a laugh, "Kukukuku," before disappearing back into the shadows.

**XxX**

As Fugaku was walking towards the Hokage tower to see if anyone had gone to report a missing child, he studied the little girl that was in his arms. She had large obsidian eyes, and unruly ebony colored hair. Looking into her eyes, he could tell that some of the fear they once carried was gone, but they remained cautious. He did not want to think about the things that made her the way she was right then. Was she what the Kumo-nin were after? If so, then why? Had Kumo turned the small child into a Jinchuriki?

Wanting to get to the Hokage's tower as soon as possible, Fugaku slightly bent his knees while tightening his grip around the dark haired little girl and sprung up onto the roof of the nearest building. Hearing a squeal, he looked down only to see the little girl's eyes wide in amazement. Then she started to giggle uncontrollably. He allowed a small smile to grace his face at the sight.

Soon the Hokage's tower came into view. Light poured out of the large windows from a large office at the top of the tower. From what he could see, the Yondaime Hokage was pacing back and forth in front of his desk, where his hat laid forgotten. When he got closer, he could see that a look of worry covered the Hokage's face. There was a feeling of unease floating around. Many of his ninja had come to him throughout the previous day, and told him of their worries. He too felt that something was going to happen though, like the others, he did not know what. Not being able to get to sleep, he opted to catch up on all the paper work that had had started to pile up.

The Yondaime's musings were interrupted by a tapping at the window. When he turned to face the window, he was surprised to see none other than Uchiha Fugaku perched on the windowsill. Minato made his way over towards the window to allow the other man into the office.

"Fugaku-san what brings you here so late," Minato asked, as the dark haired man made his way into the room via window. When he saw movement he looked down to see the child that was in the other man's arms. He addressed the little girl directly. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Kim," the child spoke shyly, as she looked over the blonde male before her.

"Kim, as in Kimi, doesn't that mean 'secret'? It's a really pretty name you have Kim," he told her with a bright smile, which in turn caused the little girl to return the gesture. "Fugaku-san, why is this child with you? Or did you and Mikoto-chan have another one when no one was looking," the blonde joked, which earned him a glare from the Uchiha. "Well, she does kind of look like you."

"I found her while on my way back home from nightly patrols. She was in the woods where I encountered three Kumo-nin," the Uchiha spoke in a monotone.

"Kumo-nin," the Namikaze asked dropping his playful demeanor and taking on a serious one. "You don't think that they might try something so soon after the war? Did you happen to gather any information on them?"

"It didn't seem like that way," Fugaku reassured his Hokage that another was not about to break out. "They were trying to capture something. They kept stating that something had escaped. After I took two of the three out, I went in search of the third member, a female that seemed to be fully aware of the situation, but that was when I came across the child."

"I see. I'll send out a few ANBU to search the area," the Hokage informed the other man. He then called forth five men dressed in all black with white armor wearing clay animal masks. He told them of the situation, and then sent them off to search the area Fugaku had spoken of.

"I also fear that this child may be what the Kumo-nin were after," the Uchiha Clan leader spoke.

"Why would that be," Minato inquired.

"Kumo is always trying to find ways to strengthen their ranks. This child could possibly be another Jinchuriki." He looked down at the little girl that was resting in his arms, and sincerely hoped that he was in fact wrong.

"I'll examine her for any seals," Minato said as he held out his arms for the little girl. Fugaku calmly handed her over to the blonde. The little girl clung to the man's vest not wanting to be handed over. After a bit of struggle Minato finally got the little girl away from the dark eyed man. Fugaku had to stifle a laugh as the little girl pulled on the blonde Hokage's hair. "She has quite the grip."

"Don't let her get a hold of any weapons," the Uchiha stated.

"Wait, she did that to you," blue eyed man asked shocked. "I thought one of those Kumo-nin managed to knick you." He let out a snicker, which earned him another glare. He turned around and laid the little girl on the desk. He lifted her shirt up, and placed his right hand over her bellybutton. "Okay, Kim, this might feel a little bit weird, but I need you to stay still for me. Can you do that?"

When Kim nodded, Minato sent pulses of chakra into her small body. The sensation of having chakra pumped into her body was strange, and it had more of a tickling sensation rather than a painful one. No longer able to hold it in, she let her giggles escape.

"Well she doesn't seem to be a Jinchuriki, though she does seem to be ticklish," Minato said with a laugh. "Also there have been no reports of missing children. It's too late to take her to the orphanage, or ask anyone to take care of her in the meantime. Unless you would be willing to take her in for the night, I know you have Itachi, but that is the only option I can think of. I would take her in myself, but I wouldn't know the first thing on how to care for her and Kushina is out on a mission."

"Daddy," Kim called out as she stood up on the wooden desk with her arms stretched out. Fugaku choked on his spit, causing Minato to laugh yet again. The little girl rubbed at her eyes tiredly, and let out a yawn.

"Good luck Daddy," Minato called out to Fugaku, as the man was preparing to leap out of the window. The blonde had to jump out of the way of a kunai. He let out a chuckle at his friend's antics, and decided to call it a night. He knew that if he had taken the little girl in, the two of them would both be crying by the end of the night. Fugaku was much better suited to watch after Kim, than he was.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Fugaku jumped from the window of the Hokage's office onto the nearest building. The little girl in his arms laughed as he hopped along the roofs of the buildings. A small, barely noticeable, smile graced the stoic man's face at the sight of the young child's joy.

"Fasta daddy, fasta," the adorable one year old chanted. She clutched onto the man's green vest tightly, as he picked up his pace. Unfortunately, for the small girl, the man leapt off a building and stopped in front of large wooden gates. There were red and white paper fans painted on the large wooden doors. "Whewe awe we?"

"This is the Uchiha District," Fugaku stated as he walked through the gates. Past the gates, the Uchiha District looked like its own little village. There were a few little shops, and rows of houses. Everywhere the little girl looked, there were more red and white paper fans; they were painted on the stone walls or printed on banners. "This is where you will be staying."

"Weally," the little girl asked in awe, and Fugaku nodded his head in confirmation.

The little girl's wide brown eyes took in the sights before her as the man who was carrying her walked towards a large house that seemed to be at the back of the district. The house seemed to be the largest in comparison to the others they had walked passed. Fugaku walked through the entrance, and then stopped right in front of the door. He looked down at the little girl.

"My wife and my son are both asleep right now, so I want you to be as quiet as possible," he said to the little girl. The little girl giggled before she covered her mouth with her tiny hands trying to stay quiet. He waited for her to nod before he opened the front door, and walked into the house. Once he had opened the door, he was met with his wife who wore a hunter's expression, and was armed with a chopping knife. The sight caused the Uchiha Clan leader to visibly pale, and stumbled back in shock.

**XxX**

_I wonder what's taking him so long. He never stays out this late, _a worried Mikoto thought as she sharpened a kitchen knife used for chopping vegetables. She had long since cleaned the entire house, from sweeping the floors, doing the laundry, picking up after her four year old son, to slicing and dicing vegetables and placing them in containers. _I hope nothing happened to him. _Just as that last thought came to mind, Mikoto head footsteps walking up the short path towards the front door.

The ebony haired woman placed the knife she was sharpening onto the counter. She found it a bit strange that the footsteps stopped right at the door, and made no move to enter. Maybe it wasn't her husband after all. What if something had happened to him and it was a random Jonin coming to break the news to her? Her heart began to beat erratically at her morbid thoughts. Then she heard her husband's voice.

"My wife and my son are both asleep right now, so I want you to be as quiet as possible," her husband spoke to an unnamed person. Her heart began to sink, as her mind was racing with thoughts of whom her husband was speaking to, and he would never bring home a guest without informing her first. Her blood ran cold when she heard a feminine giggle, and her body felt as if it were on fire; a great contradiction. She acted without thinking when she heard the creak of the front door opening.

**XxX**

"M-Mikoto," Fugaku stuttered at the sight of his wife. The Uchiha matriarch did not possess the Sharingan, but in that moment, her eyes looked deadly. The woman had the chopping knife gripped tightly in her hands poised for an attack. "What's going…?"

"Where is that *trollop," the woman practically growled out in a chilling voice. Her long black hair seemed to be taking a leaf out of her closest friend's book, and seemed to be floating around her, making her appear all the more menacing. Her dark eyes were filled with anger, and her peach colored was flushed.

"Daddy what's a twollop," a little girl's voice question causing Mikoto's eyes to shift towards the small child that was being carried by her husband, causing the dark haired woman's eyes widen in shock. She let her eyes dark back and forth from her husband and the small child he was holding. Like the Yondaime, she instantly saw the similarities. The little girl had the same hair color as her husband, but she told herself that dark hair was a common thing. Then the little girl had called him 'Daddy,' and he did not deny it. She could not hurt the small child for she was not to blame, but her husband on the other hand…

"Who did you sleep with," the small woman cried. Tears had begun to gather in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She had to be strong. "You cheater!" Thankfully, Fugaku had put the child down when Mikoto launched her knife at him. She quickly ran towards the kitchen with her husband chasing after her.

The little girl trailed after the two with tears running down her face. She did not mean to make the man's wife upset. Once she reached the entrance to the kitchen she poked her little head in, and her eyes widened at the sight before her.

Her body stiffened in fright when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Slowly she turned her head around to see who was standing behind her. Standing behind her was a boy around four years old. He looked a lot like Fugaku, the little girl noted. He had chin length black hair that was sticking up in places from where he had been asleep. His large black eyes reminded her of the woman's, and they were bleary with sleep.

The little boy was rubbing at his eyes trying to wake up. He had been sleeping peacefully in his bed when he was woken up by his parents shouting. Being a rather curious child, he decided to go and investigate. When he reached the part of the house were the shouting resonated, he stopped in his tracks when he saw a girl a few years younger than him standing by the entrance to the kitchen. The girl looked like she was a another member of the Uchiha Clan, but he was the youngest member of the clan.

He could tell that the girl was crying by the way her shoulders were shaking. Walking up to the girl he put a hand on her shoulder in hopes of comforting her, but it had the opposite effect. Instead of making her feel better it scared her, and made her tears fall faster from her wide eyes. When the girl let out a whimper, the little boy panicked and pulled her into a hug like the ones his mother gave him whenever he was scared. He wrapped his arms around her smaller form and began to pat her back awkwardly. When she calmed down, he started to speak.

"Um, my name's Itachi. What's yours," the little boy introduced himself to the little girl. He remembered his father telling him that it was common courtesy to introduce oneself before asking for another's name.

"I'm Kim," the little girl said shyly. "Why are they fighting? Did I do something to make them mad? I didn't mean to."

"Let's go see," Itachi said as he grabbed her hand and led her into the kitchen.

When the two children walked into the kitchen it looked like a hurricane had hit. Knives were imbedded in the walls, the table had been upturned and thrown to the side, water was leaking from the faucet, food stained the walls, and the refrigerator door was wide open.

Standing by the open refrigerator was Mikoto, as she took out whatever her hands grabbed, and slung it across the room over at the upturned table. Fugaku was taking refuge behind the table. When Mikoto ran out of thing to throw at her _unfaithful_ husband, she picked up a frying pan and charged at him. Every time Fugaku tried to explain the situation to his wife, she would throw something at him and he would be forced to dodge or take cover. At times he would forget that his wife was a capable Jonin before the birth of their son, and she did not fail to remind him as another chopping knife whizzed past his face and embedded itself deep into the wall behind him.

The throwing of objects stopped and Fugaku chanced a look over the table he was taking cover behind. When he saw that his enraged wife had slumped to the ground, he left the cover over the table and slowly made his way towards her. He could not help but remember when he had to do the same for the little girl he was now in charge of. If he could just explain the situation to his wife then everything would be alright. Once he was a foot away from the dark eyed woman, she sprung up wielding a frying pan, and he knew he had been deceived. However, the woman's attack was halted by a scream.

"Stop it," Itachi cried as he clutched the little girl's hand tighter. He did not like the sight of people fighting much less his own parents. Kim squeezed his hand comfortingly even though she herself was scared. "Please don't fight anymore!" He was rubbing away at the tears that trickled down his face.

"Mikoto please just listen to me," Fugaku asked his wife. His wife gave him a scathing glare, which caused him to shiver on the inside. "I found her while out on patrol." She was still looking at him suspiciously. "I went to the Hokage to see if there were any reports on missing children, and there were none. Also there were ninja from Kumo searching the area where I found her. So for her safety, she will be staying with us." Even after his explanation, his wife still did not seem to believe him. He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Here, read this."

**XxX**

_Fugaku was about to leap out of the window of the Hokage's tower when he remembered something. Slowly he turned on his heel, and looked back at the Yondaime. Minato had taken a seat at his desk, and was writing something in a scroll. The blonde man looked up at the black haired man, and presented him with the scroll he had previously been writing in after he had rolled it up neatly._

_"I'm sure this might come in handy," Minato spoke with a hint of humor in his voice, remembering times he was on the same genin team as the other man's wife. Fugaku could only nod his head in agreement. "It contains everything she might need to know about the situation."_

**XxX**

As Mikoto read over the scroll, her eyes would flicker over to the little girl standing in the doorway beside her son. By the time she had finished reading the scroll, her eyes had softened considerably and her stiff posture relaxed. The ebony haired beauty then turned her head to face her husband. As an apology was about to escape her lips her husband stopped her with an understanding smile and a shake of his head.

"So she's going to be staying with us until we find her parents," Mikoto asked looking down at the little girl.

"Yes," Fugaku answered her. "Although it doesn't seem as if she is from here, then again it's too early to tell. She could have just snuck out of bed and decided to wander around."

"Mommy can we keep her," a small voice asked, drawing his parents' attention towards him. Itachi looked up at his parents expectantly.

"Itachi," Mikoto said softly, crouching down to her son's level. "She's not a pet. She has her own family that's probably worried about her." The two small children stared at her.

"Meow," Kim impersonated the sound of a cat.

"Kitty," Itachi shouted with wide eyes as he hugged the little girl. The two children looked up a Mikoto with large pleading smiles.

"Fugaku can we keep her," Mikoto pleaded to her husband as she wrapped her arms around the little boy and girl. Fugaku gave her a blank stare. Had she not been the one to say that they could not keep the girl? The Uchiha matriarch then caught a whiff of the children in her arms. "Why do you two smell like fish?" Then it hit her, the answer to her question. She had thrown fish at her husband in a fit of rage, and some of it must have landed on the two. "Fugaku clean up this mess, while I go get these two washed up," the woman ordered as she ushered the children out of the room.

"Troublesome," the man mumbled, borrowing the catchphrase of the Nara.

"Don't forget this," Mikoto said as she tossed her husband the frying pan she had forgotten to put down. Fugaku barely managed to catch the accursed object before it made contact with his head.

**Trollop - a woman perceived as sexually disreputable or promiscuous.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to my lovely reviewers: Freedom its2l8, tessa1293, PinkJewel24, and Musical cake.**

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CHAPTER THREE

After bathing the two children, Mikoto got them dressed for bed. She dressed Kim in another pair of Itachi's pajamas, which he refused to wear much to Mikoto's bewilderment. Itachi wore a pair of simple red and white stripped flannel pajamas, and Kim wore a pair of oversized mint green flannel pajamas decorated with fluffy white sheep.

Fugaku sighed as he walked into his bedroom after he had cleaned up the mess that was made in the kitchen. He shook his head as he climbed into the large bed next to Itachi who was sound asleep. Lying beside Itachi was Kim curled up on her side, and next to her was Mikoto. He then promptly fell asleep in the minimal amount of space that was left to him.

When Fugaku woke up the next morning, he was surprised to see the bed empty, save for himself. After a quick shower, he walked into the kitchen to greet his wife. In the kitchen, he saw his children… He mentally shook his head.

Itachi and Kim were sitting at the table having an intense discussion about, of all things, fruit. Itachi had wanted to learn more about the little girl that was going to be stay with them for an indefinite amount of time. All of his questions fell out of his mouth at the same time, and the little girl gave him strange looks. His mother then suggested that they played a game. They would take turns asking questions, but that all fell apart when Itachi asked her what her favorite fruit was, and the little girl replied that she did not know since she had not eaten much of a variety. After that, Itachi took it upon himself to describe all the different fruits he had tried.

"Mommy," Itachi called out, catching both Mikoto and Fugaku's attention. The four-year-old boy gave her a very serious look. "We need to buy fruit."

"Why is that Itachi," Mikoto asked as if she did not already know the answer. She bent down to wipe his face clean before doing the same to the little girl sitting beside him.

"_Imouto_ doesn't know what her favorite fruit is," the dark haired little boy stated as if it was a wrong that needed to be righted. "We need to go to the market, and buy fruit."

"Itachi we just went to the market yesterday," Mikoto stated. The market was not exactly her favorite place to be.

"Yeah, but," Itachi agreed trailing off looking forlorn. He felt a tugging on his pajama's sleeve, and looked down at Kim. She pointed over to where the refrigerator was. What he saw caused him to smile. "Tou-san's drinking out of the milk carton again. So now we have to go to the market!" The two children were bouncing excitedly in their seats, while Mikoto shot a nasty glare, which caused Fugaku to choke on the milk.

"Good morning Aunty Mikoto," a voice yelled from outside the kitchen window. Suddenly a messy haired eight year old jumped into the kitchen through the window. "What's for breakfast?" He took a seat next to the little girl and ruffled her hair thinking it was Itachi. "Mornin' squirt." He looked down at the child. Looking at the little girl with a weird face he said, "Wait you're not Itachi. Aunty Mikoto when did you have another kid? So it is true that the stork just drops them off, 'cause she wasn't here yesterday."

"Shisui she didn't come from the stork," the Uchiha matriarch stated, while serving him breakfast.

"So where do babies come from them," the messy haired boy asked innocently before taking a bit out of his omelet.

The two adults in the room gave each other wide-eyed looks. Fugaku strategically took a large bite of the omelet that his wife hat set in front of him. Disaster adverted.

"She came from the stork," Mikoto said contradicting her earlier statement.

"But I thought you said," Shisui was cut off when Fugaku asked him a question.

"Why are you here," the man asked giving the eight year old a stern look for talking with food in his mouth.

"Well," he began swallowing the food in his mouth. "Tou-chan got sent out on another mission last night, so it's the usual," he finished with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. He then continued to eat his breakfast, asking for seconds when he was done.

Fugaku just sat back and finished off his breakfast. It was typical of ninja parents to be sent out on missions, and having to find a babysitter at the last minute. It was even more typical of Kagami to leave Shisui in their care without informing them beforehand. It was a reoccurring ordeal, that became 'the usual' as Shisui had stated.

"Thanks for the food," Shisui shouted his thanks as he jumped to his feet. He slung a black messenger back over his shoulder, and started to make his way out of the kitchen. "I'm off to the academy! Bye squirts!" He then ran out of the kitchen, and soon the sound of a door opening and closing sounded throughout the house.

"Well I have to be on my way as well," Fugaku said as he slowly stood up.

"Kaa-san can we go to the market now," Itachi pleaded with wide eyes when his father had left the room. "Imouto need clothes of her own too."

"Alright you two," Mikoto sighed giving in. She started to usher the children out of the kitchen. "Let's go get you two dressed."

A little later in the morning when the two children were both dresses, Kim dressed in some of Itachi's old clothes, the three of them found themselves walking through the market of Konoha. Mikoto stood in between the two small children while holding onto one of their hands, to insure that they would not wander off on their own.

"Good morning Miko-chan," a voice sang out in greeting to the black haired woman.

"Morning Kushi-chan," Mikoto greeted as she turned around to face the person who had called out to her. Itachi seemed to get impatient with the newcomer's presence, and Kim hid behind Mikoto, clutching onto her purple dress in slight fear.

The woman was about the same height as Mikoto. She had fair skin, violet eyes, but her most noticeable feature had to be her stunning red hair that fell below her backside. Kim could not help but think she was beautiful like Mikoto. She the back of her mind she hoped she grew up to have at least a fraction of the beauty the older women possessed. Without meaning to, the dark haired, eighteen month old took a step towards the red haired woman. She had not even realized that she had grabbed onto the skirt woman's green dress. She only realized what she had done when the woman turned a questioning violet gaze upon her small form, and lifted her up from under her arms.

"What? You and Fugaku had another one when we weren't looking? You spawned again," asked Kushina. Her eyes were wide in shock as she studied the little she held in her hands. The little girl certainly looked like Mikoto, if Kushina said so herself. She then studied the child's own wide eyes that had started to fill up with tears. Acting on instinct, she did not know she had, the Uzumaki pulled the girl into a warm embrace. "I thought you said…"

"Kushina," the black haired woman said with a hard voice. She knew what her friend was getting at, and she wanted to stay away from such sensitive subjects. "We didn't have another one, and we don't _spawn._"

"Then where did she come from, and why does she look so much like you," Kushina inquired.

"There are a lot of children with dark eyes and hair," Mikoto stated.

"Yes, but not everyone has the freaky Hyuuga genes, and this kid could be your clone," the redhead pushed her case.

"Ah Kushina, Mikoto-san," a male voice called out to the arguing women. The voice belonged to Konoha's esteemed Yondaime Hokage. He walked up to the group of four with a warm smile. "Hello Itachi-kun." His eyes widened when he caught sight of a familiar face being held by the red haired beauty. "And hello Kim-chan." He lifted the little girl out of his lover's arms, and gave her a tight hug. "So what are you doing today, little one?"

"Buying fwuit and clothes with 'Tachi-nii and mommy," the child replied shyly. Kushina stared at her husband as he conversed with the toddler.

"Why fruit," Minato asked curiously.

"'Tachi-nii said I need a favowite fwuit," she replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Minato smiled as she talked, he was happy she was not as guarded and afraid as she had been the night before.

"Wait," the redhead cut in, catching Minato's attention. "How do you know her?"

"I'm the Hokage," the blonde haired man stated stupidly. "It's my job to know everyone in the village." He did not even need to look at his wife's face to know that she was planning to murder him, or that her hair flew up behind her mimicking the nine tails of another deadly creature. He quickly explained how he had come to meet the child, only after he had been punched… thrice.

"Sensei what did you do now," a young feminine voice questioned. Kim, who had been patting the blonde man's hair in silent comfort, shot a curious look at the newcomer. She did not take in her appearance as she had done for Kushina, since he gaze was stuck on the two purple rectangles that were tattooed on her face. It was then that the girl felt the eyes of the younger girl. "Awww, how cute," she gushed, walking towards the object of her attention. She crouched down and looked into the child's ebony eyes with her own milk chocolate eyes.

"Sensei you really are lame," another voice commented, as he landed in front of the group after jumping off the building he had been standing on. The twelve year old then held out a metal plated had towards the fallen Hokage to assist him in standing up, which Minato accepted gratefully.

"That's not very nice Kashi," the brown-eyed girl commented, giving the white haired boy shake of her head.

"Che, whatever," Kakashi said whilst putting both of his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner.

"Che, whatevew," the dark haired eighteen months old mimicked the older boy, striking a matching pose as the Hatake, even going as far as to close her left eye.

"Awww, Kakashi I think she likes you," Rin stated with a small laugh.

"Awww, Kakashi's got a little girlfriend," Kushina cooed, messing up Kakashi's hair in the process.

"She's not my girlfriend," the Hatake growled.

"Don't worry Kakashi I approve of her," Minato added joining in on poking fun at his normally stoic student.

"Well," Mikoto mused aloud. She looked down at her four-year-old son, who was feeling a bit left out at the moment. "I'm not sure if Itachi would want to share his little sister, and even if Minato approves, there's still Fugaku."

"It was nice knowing you Kakashi-kun," Rin said with a straight face while placing a hand on her teammate's shoulder. No longer able to keep the act up Rin broke out into a fit of giggles, which set off the others, causing the masked boy to scowl and his ears to turn red in embarrassment.

Kakashi shot a glare at the new bane of his existence. He was quite surprised when she gave him a bright smile that showed off her tiny teeth. _What a little weirdo,_ Kakashi thought as he turned on his heal, giving Rin a reminder that they had a mission, and then jumping onto the nearest building. Rin bid the other farewell, and then followed after her teammate.

"Well I have to get back to the office," Minato stated looking up at the sun. He turned to face Mikoto. "By the way there have been no reports of missing children. I even went through all the children's files last night; there is no one here that matches her description. I'll give it a week though, before we place her in the orphanage." He looked saddened at the thought of having to place another child in the orphanage. Turning to Kushina, he gave her a quick peck on the lips before making his way back to his office.

"Is it bad that I want to keep her after only spending one night with her," the raven-haired woman asked her best friend while looking down lovingly at the two children while they conversed.

"Mikoto," Kushina pleaded.

"I know she will never be a replacement for _her. _I never even thought of it that way_,"_ she gave the redhead a sad smile," but I just feel this deep connection with her. _She _would have been the same age. Maybe this is a second chance. Fugaku even seems taken with her."

"Do whatever makes you happy. You know I'll always support you," the violet-eyed woman stated. "There's something else that's bothering you." It was not a question. She could tell off the bat that something was bothering the other woman.

"The clan," Mikoto sighed. "Though we're not as strict as the Hyuuga, the Uchiha have a hard time accepting outsiders. Even if we can keep her, I don't want her to be hated by the clan. I know for a fact they will refuse to allow her to use the Uchiha name."

"I can always kick their asses," Kushina said throwing her arm around the dark haired beauty's shoulders. "Anyone gives this kid hell, I teach them just who exactly their dealing with." She ended her statement with a devious grin while punching the air. "Now let's get your _daughter_ some new clothes, and get these kids the fruit they wanted."

"Yeah," Itachi and Kim shouted in victory at the thought of finally getting their fruit.

By the end of the shopping spree, the children were still full of energy even though the women were ready to drop where they stood. Who knew shopping for a little girl could be so much fun yet to tiresome at the same time. Before the women even knew it, Itachi and Kim were pulling them up and down the market. The two threw whatever fruit looked good into the identical woven baskets they carried and hurried over to the next stall to repeat the process. Mikoto and Kushina drug their feet after them pay the vendors as they passed by.

When they finally reached the Uchiha Mansion, the two women collapsed into the living room area of the house, and all but fell asleep. Next time the children wanted to go to the market, they were hiring Genin to take them.

Itachi and Kim were in their own little world as they tried different types of fruit in the living room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to my chapter three reviewers: Musical cake, that one guest, and Black-White Crow .**

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CHAPTER FOUR

"Come on Shisui," Itachi whined to the four years older child. "Take us to the market!"

"Pwease," Kim added giving Shisui a pout, which Itachi soon mimicked.

Shisui had started to regret stopping by when the two midgets pounced on him. He really should have known something was up when Mikoto snuck out of the kitchen with a sly smile on her face. Apparently, the two had been trying to get someone to take them to the market all morning, and Mikoto had refused say that she had to do chores.

They had run out of fruit a few days ago, and they needed to replenish their stock. Kim had found out that she quite liked the sweet taste of cherries, much to Itachi's delight. Much to Mikoto's dismay, Shisui had taught her how to spit cherry pits a people. Although she was glad that the little girl seemed to be opening up more and more as the days went by.

Three days ago, Minato had stopped by to inform them that there were no records of the girl and that she was most likely not from the village. The blonde Hokage had even contacted other nations in hopes of finding the girl's parents but to no avail. It seemed as if Kim had just appeared out of thin air. Before blue eyed man could even suggest putting the child in the orphanage, Mikoto had stated her desire to keep and raise the child with Kushina backing her up. Without even having to discuss the matter, Fugaku had agreed with his wife. A day later the lost little girl, with the striking resemblance to Mikoto and Fugaku, had been officially adopted, although not everyone had agreed with them.

The majority of the Uchiha Clan had not agreed with their decision to adopt the little girl. They did not want to allow an outsider in for fear that she might be a spy. They refused to accept her part of the clan, and argued with Fugaku relentlessly over whether or not the girl should be permitted to use the clan name. Things took a turn to the more serious side when a clansman accused them of trying to replace the daughter they had lost, and were using the child as a replacement. Mikoto had run out of the meeting in tears at the false accusations with Fugaku soon trailing after her. In the end, the clan name was documented onto her newly crafted birth certificate, but kept a secret from the other members of the clan. Fugaku had stashed the certificate away in his office, in a place he was sure no one would ever look. He and his wife both prayed that one day their new daughter would be able to refer to herself as an Uchiha and wear their clan's symbol proudly on her back.

"Please/Pwease," the two children cried simultaneously. They had their hands clasped together in front of them and were giving him the puppy-dog-face.

"If I close my eyes I can't see your faces," Shisui stated closing his eyes. "If I can't see your faces, then it won't work." He smiled down at the two; or where he thought they were standing.

"Please/pwease, please/pwease, please/pwease, please/pwease," Itachi and Kim chanted in unison.

"La, la, la, can't hear you," Shisui chanted right back at them as he stuck his fingers in his ears. He started to do a strange hopping dance along with his chanting. "La, la, la, can't hear you! La, la, la, can't hear you!"

"Shisui, what are you doing," a voice called out to the eight year old, stopping him mid-chant with one foot in the air. The aforementioned child cracked an eye open, and stared at Fugaku in shock. He pulled his fingers out of his ears, and looked around for any sight of the two little pests. When he did not see them, he figured they went off to play somewhere and shrugged it off.

"Well I have to go home," the messy haired eight year old stated. He patted his uncle on the arm and hopped out of the house continuing his strange hopping dance.

**XxX**

"Wait fow me," the dark haired little girl cried as she struggled to keep up with her older brother. Her legs were too short, and her brother was walking too fast.

"Imouto hurry up," Itachi shouted back at her. He stopped walking and turned around to face the smaller child. He had an excited smile on his face. When Shisui had kept being a _big meanie_, Itachi decided he was old enough to go to the market on his own. He was a shinobi in training after all, and he would be entering the Academy in two more years. Even his mother had said he was responsible as an adult, so it had to be all right.

When his little sister had caught up to him, the two made their way out of the Uchiha District. Kim held onto Itachi's hand as he led her to the farmer's market. The trip was significantly shorter than when they had gone with their mother – most likely since they had ran the entire way. Once they had reached their destination they immediately ran to the stand that had the most variety of fruit.

"Aren't you two adorable," the graying woman running the stand gushed when they had stopped in front of her stand.

They picked out cherries, grapes, kiwi, and a few apples and put them into the little wicker basket they had brought with them. They paid the woman with the money they had stolen out of Shisui's pocket while he was too busy ignoring them. After paying, the two made their way over to a deserted training area that had a river running through it. They sat on the riverbank, and after removing their shoes, they let their feet dangle in, more like hover over, the water. Itachi placed the basket between the two and they began to eat their array of fruits while their feet splashed in the water.

The two children turned their heads around when they voices noises coming from behind them. They saw two figures appear from the line of tree surrounding the training field. The taller of the two had white hair that seemed to defy gravity while the other had chin length brown hair with matching eyes. Kim soon found herself staring at the purple rectangles on the brown haired girl's cheeks.

"Hey," Rin shouted in surprise looking at the two small figures sitting on the riverbank. She and her white haired teammate had decided to get lunch after their quick training session. She made her way over to the children leaving Kakashi to trail after her. "What are you two doing here all by yourselves?" She squatted down behind the two.

"Mom and Dad were busy, and Shisui was being a jerk and wouldn't take us to the market. But I'm old enough so we went by ourselves," Itachi explained to the older girl.

"Wan' one," Kim offered an apple to Rin, which she happily accepted. The eighteen month old stood up after picking a random item out of the basket, and walked over to the white haired boy. "Hewe you go," she said with a toothy grin. Kakashi took the furry brown fruit out of the little girl's outstretched hand, and nodded his head in thanks.

"Awww, Kakashi," a third voice cooed from behind the group of four. A blonde man walked over while twirling a three-pronged kunai around one finger. He gave a slight snicker. "Your girlfriend cares about you." He looked over at the two children with a goofy smile on his tanned face, not noticing the tips of his student's ears turn pink. "Hello Itachi-kun, Kimi-chan!" Itachi gave the man a smile and a shy wave, while Kimi ran over and hugged him around his leg with a smile. "So are you two hungry?" Kim looked at Itachi, and they nodded their heads. Minato beamed. "Well let's get to Ichiraku!"

After the Hokage's proclamation the group of five made their way over to the recently opened ramen shop. Rin carried the basket as she held onto Kim's small had, and Itachi walked between his sister and Kakashi. Minato was at the front leading the group. Once at the Ramen shop they all took their seats. Rin had placed the small girl on her lap. Kim not wanting to sit on Rin's lap, decided to sit on the bar.

"Hello," a light brown haired girl wearing a white bandana over her hair greeted from the other side of the counter. "How may I take your orders?"

"Ah Ayame-chan," Minato greeted the young girl working the counter. "I'll have a miso ramen, and-"he trailed off looking at Kim and Itachi expectantly. The two shrugged their shoulders not knowing what to order. "-they will have pork ramen."

"Okay, and what about you two," Ayame said addressing Kakashi and Rin. The two gave her their orders and she went to the back to prepare them.

"Was dat," the little girl questioned pointing towards something Rin had strapped to her hip.

"Oh this," Rin said looked at the object the little girl had pointed out. She pulled the pouch off her skirt, and held it up to the child. "This is my medic pouch. It has the basic tools every medic needs while out of the field."

"Medic?" The boys watched the two girls' as they conversed.

"A medic is someone who heals people when they get hurt. It takes a lot of work and control, but it's worth it when you get to save someone's life or heal someone's owwie."

"Me too," the ebony haired girl said with a small smile on her face.

"You want to be a medic," Rin asked with a smile. "I can teach you a few things if you want, and then when you're older I can teach you even more. Would you like that?" The little girl nodded her head enthusiastically causing her hair to swish back and forth, causing Rin and Minato to laugh and Kakashi to give a shadow of a smile. Itachi sat with a pout on his face since everyone seemed to be ignoring him.

Ayame came back with their lunch and they all thanked her before they began to eat. Lunch had been a blast to say the least. Team Minato had chatted about random things and their latest missions among other things. Once Kim was full she had taken it upon herself to bandage a nonexistent wound on Itachi's arm, causing the others to laugh at the mummified boy. Once everyone had finished their lunch Minato had departed taking the children with them. When he arrived at the Uchiha District he handed them over to Shisui who was on his way out.

**XxX**

Five months had passed, and things were well in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Kakashi and Rin had just finished their training session for the day.

"Stay still," whined Kim for what seemed the millionth time.

"Kakashi I would listen to her, she is the medic after all," Rin chided her teammate. As she had promised, she had started to teach the now two-year-old girl the basics of first aid. The little girl may have been young, but she seemed to absorb Rin's teachings like a sponge. The dark haired child had been spending so much time with Kakashi and Rin, her vocabulary was way passed that of the average two-year-old, although she still had trouble saying her Rs. "Alright, Miss Medic, what do you need?"

Kim asked Kakashi to give her his arm that had been scraped on a mission he had recently returned from. The enemy had kicked him and sent him skidding along the terrain. She examined the pink skin.

"I need booboo spray," she said coming to her conclusion. She reached into the little medic's pouch – a gift from Rin – she had strapped to her pink belt. She pulled out a bottle of antiseptic spray. Pulling the plastic lid off the bottle, she sprayed Kakashi slight injury, causing Kakashi to flinch at the stinging sensation, before recapping the bottle and putting it away. She then pulled out a roll of bandages, and wrapped his arm. The girl turned to face her mentor. "How was that, Win-shishou?"

"You did really well," Rin commended the girl on her work. "Oh remember the man who let you do his stitches at the hospital," Kim nodded, "He said his arm healed up nicely and that if he ever needs stitches again he'll ask for you." That last comment practically caused the two year old to glow with pride.

"I still can't believe he let a two year old stick a needle in him," Kakashi muttered under his breath as he inspected his bandages. He had to admit the kid was doing really well for being so young, but then again people had always doubted his abilities for being so young too. So really, who was he to judge, but then again people never relied on him to treat their injuries. "I think it's time we take the little weirdo him and head out on our mission."

"Kakashi don't be mean," the brown haired girl scolded her teammate.

"I don't wan'na go home yet," Kimi said with a pout.

"Sorry sweetheart, but you have to," Rin said with a small smile. "We have a mission to get to, and it looks like it might start raining."

"Okay," Kim said finally giving in and letting them take her home. Once at her doorstep, she waved off the two ninja as the left for their mission. When she saw Mikoto walking towards her she said, "Mommy I want to be a ninja too. Then I could go with them."

"You would make a wonderful ninja just like me," the Uchiha matriarch stated as she lifted her daughter into her arms.

"You were a ninja," the girl asked amazed.

"And so was your Aunty Kushina. How about I tell you all about it while we take you a bath?" Kim nodded her head and Mikoto carried her towards the bathroom.

**XxX**

Three nights had passed since Kakashi and Rin had departed for their mission. It seemed as if the rain would never let up, and the village might end up being washed away. Lightning would flash across the sky, and then the thunder would give a roar that would make even a lion tremble in fear.

Kim was wrapped up in her blanket staring straight out the window. She could not sleep, and no matter how hard she tried sleep would never come. Her stomach was churning almost as if she was going to throw up. Sitting up in bed she looked around her bedroom. A few toys littered the floor, a toy chest was open reveling even more toys, her green rug covered a large portion of the wood floor, on the table that was pushed up against the wall under the window was littered with an array of bandages, creams, and sprays, and her television set reflected the flashing lightning. She twisted her light pink blanket in her hands.

Over the course of five moths she came to realize that almost all of the clan did not like her. She could also count the number of people within the clan that actually like her on one hand. They were not mean to her, but they tended to ignore her and act as if she did not exist. Her father had once commented that she was the white sheep among black sheep. He also told her that they would come around one day, and see just how sweet and lovely she truly was. After that he had taken her to a flower shop, and let her pick out any kind of flowers she wanted. After searching she finally found the one she like best, and bought four of them.

She stared at the flowers where they sat in their vase on her windowsill above her worktable. They almost seemed to glow in the night. Walking over towards the window she plucked a flower out of the vase and stared out into the rain. Something suddenly came over her and she hurried to pull on her coat and her shoes before jumping out of her window.

She pulled the hood over her head as she ran through the Uchiha District. Once passed the gates that took her put of the compound she ran as fast as she could. She had no idea where she was going, but it seemed like her legs. The heavy raindrops pelted her small body, but she ignored them to the best of her ability. Her breathing was becoming more labored as she ran through the village. She did not bother with any turns, as she continued down the road she traveled on, on almost a daily basis. She realized where she was going about hallway there. Before she knew it she had ran across half the village in record time. She ran straight into the trees. When she burst out on the other side she was standing in training ground seven.

She saw something in front of the memorial stone. She squinted her eyes trying to make out what it was.

"Kakashi," she shouted as she made her way towards the Hatake. He was on his knees in front of the memorial stone with his forehead pressed against the stone and his fists clenched on either side of his head. He was muttering something, but she could not hear him due to loudness of the rain and thunder. She approached the white haired boy. "Kakashi awe you okay?" She put a tentative hand on his shoulder, which caused him to stiffen.

Slowly Kakashi turned his head to look at the little girl. His entire body was shaking due to the fact that he had been out in the rain for almost three hours straight. He had ripped his mask off some time ago; it had made him feel as if it was suffocating him. His forehead protector was clutch tightly in his right hand. His chest was heaving up and down, and gave an occasional shudder when he would inhale. His eyes were bloodshot, and his Sharingan was spinning wildly.

Kim not knowing what to do, did the only thing that came to mind. She threw her arms around him in the same way her mother had done whenever she was sad. She held onto his still and shuddering body. Seeing him cry made her want to cry, and she did because it hurt her so much to see him cry.

"S-Sh-he's g-go-o-ne," Kakashi hiccupped as he wrapped his arms around the small child. He never thought he would have found so much comfort in the arms of two year old. He did not want to tell her who was gone, but she deserved to know. "R-R-Rin's-s d-de-dead, I-I could-dn't sa-ve h-her."

Kim felt like something was stuck in her throat, and she could not breathe. She tightened her grip around him and buried her face in his shoulder. That was how Fugaku and Minato discovered them.

For the first time in a while Fugaku could not look at the young Hatake as a thief. Minato worried about his student's state of mind. There seemed to be even more pressing matters. The young girl's eyes were a vivid red with a single comma spinning wildly around her pupil.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you all so much for all ya'll's support my chapter four reviewers: Triple T 123, Musical cake, and PinkJewel24.**

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CHAPTER FIVE

Shortly after Minato and Fugaku had arrived on the scene the red in the young child's eyes faded back to its original ebony color that matched her hair. It had honestly surprised the two men to see a single tomo Sharingan in the girl's eyes. As shinobi they had been taught to expect the unexpected, but that was not something they even thought was possible.

They carried Kakashi and Kimi back to the Hokage's manor, although it was a bit of a challenge as Kakashi had refused to let the young girl out of his arms, and even after they had passed out from sheer emotional exhaustion they he still refused to let her go.

Fugaku and Minato waited in his office in silence as they waited for their spouses. The two did not know what to make of the situation with the newest member of the Uchiha Clan.

Kushina and Mikoto entered the office through the window not wanting to waste time going up the stairs. Minato had sent out one of his toad summons to alert them to head over to the Hokage's Tower.

"Where are they? Are they okay," the two women exclaimed in unison as they leapt through the same window. If they had been buff shinobi instead of lean Kunoichi, they would have been stuck. Seeing, as they were the latter they passed through with no problems.

"They're in Kakashi's spare room in the manor," Minato answered calmly from where he was leaning against the front of his desk.

The two women were about to race out to the manor, before they were stopped.

"She activated her Sharingan," Fugaku stated bluntly.

"What," Kushina shouted in shock.

"How," Mikoto asked only the slightest bit calmer than the redhead was.

"We," Minato started, "don't know how it's even possible."

"Only an Uchiha can activate the Sharingan. She has to have Uchiha blood in her for that to be possible," the black haired man mused. "But if anyone from the clan had given birth we would have known. The clan does not keep secrets. As clan head I would have been one of the firsts to know after the immediate family."

"How do we know for sure if she activated the Sharingan," Mikoto questioned. "It could have just been a trick of the light."

"That's what we thought at first," the blonde Hokage stated.

"But when I channeled my chakra through her eyes, I was able to active it," the Head of the Uchiha Clan explained. "The fact that she was able to retract it on her own is only something only an Uchiha can do."

"We might need to take her to the hospital for a DNA test," Kushina suggested.

"She's right," Mikoto agreed. "But it needs to be someone that we can trust to keep it all a secret in the meantime. Maybe Tsunade would be willing to help."

"Tsunade refuses to return to the village," Minato said with a sigh.

"Well then we'll just go to her, dattebane," Kushina stated with her fist clenched in the air and a fire burning in her eyes.

"We can say that we need to get the kids away after all that has happened, and seek her out," the black haired beauty said, already making plans.

"The two of you would have to go without us since it would look suspicious if the Hokage and the Head of the Uchiha Clan suddenly left on an excursion," Fugaku gave his input.

"Just so that you don't end up have to search the entire continent, it would be best if you sought out Jiraiya-sensei first," Minato suggested. "I'm pretty sure he keeps tabs on Tsunade's whereabouts through his spy network."

"If I know Jiraiya-sensei then he's probably prowling around a hot springs somewhere," Mikoto and Minato commented.

"So tomorrow we drag the brats out of the village, ttebane," Kushina announced. "We should take them to our beach house. That way we can send them off with Kakashi to look after them while we discuss things."

"I still can't believe you have a beach house," Minato mumbled under his breath, and Fugaku had to agree with him. Their wives were definitely something else.

**XxX**

"Rise and shine Kakashi-kun," Kushina shouted into the ear of the slumbering boy. She scowled when the white haired boy rolled over onto his side and buried his face into his pillow. "Kakashi don't make me go get some chopsticks," at that proclamation the young Hatake's eyes snapped wide open and he shot out of bed running straight to the conjoined bathroom.

"Kushina," Minato groaned from the doorway.

"What? He didn't want to get up, and I am not waiting three hours for him," the red haired woman retorted walking past her husband and making her way into the kitchen.

"Kushina you're so mean to that boy," Mikoto chided her friend.

"Yeah well if I'm not then we would be leaving the village three hours later than what we planned," the Uzumaki claimed, which in all honesty was the truth. "Look you picked up Kim-chan this morning, got all of your things packed, went out and bought new swimsuits then came back here and helped me make breakfast, and the little idiot _just_ got out of bed."

"Whatever you say Kushi-chan," Mikoto sang. She knew Kushina thought of the boy as a son and liked to pick on him by way of showing her affection. "Kim, Itachi hurry up and start eating before your food gets cold."

The two did as told and picked up their chopsticks. As they were taking the first few bites of their breakfasts, Kakashi walked into the kitchen after his shower. He threw his packed bag on the floor by his chair at the table before plopping down on the seat. Mikoto wandered over and set down a plate in front of the boy.

"Alright everyone let's get going," Kushina announced. "We have to find an old pervert, a crazy drunk, and then we can finally reach our destination, ttebane."

"Where are we going," Kakashi asked poking at his omelet not really in the mood to eat, but still eat because a shinobi always needed to keep his energy up.

"Didn't I just say that already," Kushina growled out.

"I meant what is out destination," the white haired boy stated with a bored look in his eyes.

"That is a secret," Mikoto answered for him. She had told Itachi and Kim that where they were going was a surprise, and she did not want to ruin it for them.

"Why do I have to go," the Hatake asked leaning back in his chair.

"It'll be fun, and you haven't had time to act like a kid in a while," Kushina explained, unknowingly going into _mommy mode._ "Besides you could use the break. It's a lot better than holding yourself up in your apartment and you would be able to get away from Gai and everyone else."

Kakashi did not need to be with them while they searched for their answers, but Kushina and Minato had decided he needed the time away. When Obito had died, the boy had locked himself in his apartment for days. When Kushina had had enough, she broke down his front door to see a broken boy. He had not eaten or showered in the time he had been locked up. After that she carried the boy back to her and Minato's apartment, and cared for him to the best of her ability. That was when she had discovered _mommy mode _for the first time_. _The young couple ended up giving their guest bedroom to the boy, and when they moved into the Hokage's manor so had his bedroom.

"We also need a sitter while we do a few things," Mikoto added vaguely.

"Fine," Kakashi grumbled. He let out a yelp when a hand hit the back of his head.

"You agree with her, and you give me a hard time," the Red-Hot Habanero shouted.

"Don't worry about it Kushina," Minato tried to calm his wife's anger. "He's just trying to get on his future mother-in-law's good side." He snickered at the white haired boy's obvious scowl. "Hey Kimi are we invited to the wedding?"

"Wats a wedding," the two year old questioned. She cocked her head expectantly at Kakashi.

"Their crazy," the boy muttered. He looked at the little girl. "It's nothing important."

"He's not marrying my Imouto," Itachi cried giving Kakashi the fiercest glare he could muster.

"We're getting married," Kim asked the older boy. Kakashi turned red at the girl's blunt question. His face brightened even further when the three adults began to laugh.

"What's going on here," Fugaku asked from the door. He had just arrived at the manor when he heard laughter from the outside.

"I guess it's about time you five headed out," Minato stated when he calmed down enough to speak. Fugaku raised an eyebrow at him, but he waved it off.

**XxX**

Minato and Fugaku stood by the entrance gates watching as the group of five departed from the village.

"Do you think they'll be alright," the blue-eyed man asked.

"Mikoto and Kushina are both Jonin level ninja, they can take care of themselves," the onyx eyed man replied.

"I know that," Minato stated. "But I meant, do you think the kids will be alright with Kushina _and_ Mikoto?"

"Your student is a capable Jonin right?"

**XxX**

"What do you think they're talking about," the redhead asked her dark haired companion, as hear head was twisted to look over her shoulder looking at the two men they had left behind.

"They're probably saying we're incapable of making it through this trip without causing some type of trouble," answered Mikoto, as she watched her children walk ahead of her. Kakashi was walking slightly ahead of Itachi and Kim.

"What? Those jerks, dattebane," Kushina whispered angrily.

"Well they do have reason to worry," Mikoto put in. "Every mission we go on together, something always happens."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." The redhead gave a pause. "Well if anything Kakashi is a capable ninja." Mikoto had to agree with her.

The group continued to walk for about an hour when Kushina had picked up Kim while Mikoto carried Itachi and they decided it would be faster if they ran. The three Jonin traveled at full speed through the dense forests of Hi no Kuni. They traveled throughout the morning hours until they finally reached the village of Tanzuka Quarters. Once inside the village Mikoto and Kushina left the children with Kakashi while they began their search for the Toad Sennin.

"I don't like you," Itachi stated bluntly to the young white haired Jonin. The jokes the elders made about Kakashi marrying his sister from that morning still rung clearly in his head fueling his dislike for the older boy.

"That's not nice, Nii-san," the two year old girl scolded her three year older brother.

"It's alright Kim-chan," Kakashi said to the little girl. He honestly did not care whether or not if the older of the two siblings liked him. Although the I'm-watching-you look the boy gave him made him sweat drop. He cleared his throat. "So what do you two want to do?"

The feeling was strange to Kakashi as he charted the younger children around the village. Kim was happily enjoying the sights and running around excitedly, while Itachi, true to his word, was keeping a trained eye on the Hatake even as he trailed after his sister. It was when he was trying to avoid making eye contact with the boy that Kakashi spotted a familiar white mane. The man that the hair belonged to was bent over at the waist and peeping through a small whole in a tall wooden fence that most likely belonged to a hot spring. The man also held a notepad in his hand and appeared to be taking notes. Kakashi slowly approached the man before coming to a stop right by his side.

"What are you doing," the boy questioned in a bored tone. He stared at the man as he jumped back in surprise. The white haired was balancing on one foot with his arms raised in the air. When recognition dawned on the man he stood up right before pushing Kakashi out of the way and returning his eye to the whole in the wall. Kakashi let out a sigh of exasperation. "Kushina-san and Mikoto-san are looking for you." That caused the white haired man to freeze.

"Did you say Kushina and Mikoto," the man replied practically drooling at the thought of the two women together. Kakashi nodded in affirmative. "Well take me to them!"

"That won't be necessary, Jiraiya-sensei," Mikoto called out as she hopped down from the roof of the building she had been standing on and landing gracefully on her feet. Before leaving the village the woman had exchanged her usual purple dress for an eggplant colored vest that had a red and white fan printed on the back, a pair of black standardized ninja pants, and matching purple ninja shoes. "Kushina should be on her way."

"I'm here, dattebane," the fiery redhead exclaimed as she made her appearance. She too had changed out of her long green dress for something more suited for travel, which consisted of a pale yellow midriff shirt with three-quarter length sleeves, black standardized ninja pants, and black ninja shoes. The Uzumaki looked up at Jiraiya. "What's up ya big pervert?"

"Ah Kushina you wound me," the Sannin said in mock agony. He got over it quickly, and then stuck a pose. "I'm a SUPER pervert!"

"Mommy what's a pervert," Kim's small voice called out to Mikoto as she ran over to the group with Itachi running beside her, and Kakashi trailing behind them.

"Kakashi's a pervert," Itachi muttered as he kicked up dirt. "He can't find a girlfriend his own age and has to take my Imouto." He pointed at the youngest Jonin. "He only has one eye like the monsters in the story."

"Itachi-kun don' be mean to Kashi," Kim shouted before punching her brother in the stomach.

"Kim, Itachi don't fight," Mikoto scolded her children. "Kimi you don't need to know what that word means, and Itachi apologize to Kakashi for calling him names." When her son made no move to apologize she grabbed him by the ear.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, I'm sorry," Itachi cried.

"So Mikoto and Fugaku spawned again," Jiraiya commented as he watched the scene play out.

"We don't spawn," Mikoto shouted at her sensei.

"Yep they spawned again," Kushina said laughing. "She really is your student Jiraiya. She can't keep her hands off of the poor man! They'll double the population of the village at this rate!"

"Kushina don't say things like that in front of the children," the black haired beauty yelled as she covered Itachi and Kim's ears.

After that little scene, Jiraiya took the group back to the inn he was residing in. they once again sent Kakashi away with the kids while they remained in the room.

"You guys aren't here to be inspiration for my next book are you," the toad Sannin guessed as he sat down at the table in the room.

"Um, no," Mikoto said not really knowing where to start.

"Look we need to, um, like find Tsunade," Kushina said falling into her nervous habit. Mikoto decided to step in.

"She's the only one we can trust with-"

"The little girl, right," the Toad Sage asked. The women nodded. "I'll make this easy on you. I just got word from one of my spies, and Tsunade was spotted somewhere in Tea Country. My bet is that she was hoping to participate in that poker tournament they're holding. Just because I'm curious, I'll take you there myself. I was heading that way anyways."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SEVEN

"I wan'na learn to swim," the dark haired girl shouted as she watched her older brother splash around in the small waves. The girl was using her bright yellow plastic bucket as a hat. She turned to give her white haired babysitter a pleading look making sure to jut out her bottom lip.

"You can learn later in the pool. I don't want to end up losing you to the current," Kakashi said sighing as he saw that she was yet again wear her bucket as a helmet even after he had told her not to. "Your head's going to get stuck in there." She replied by sticking her tongue out at him before running off.

"Les go find she-sells," she shouted, "and stahfish and little cwabs and fishies!"

Itachi having heard her exclamation ran out of the waves and in her direction, but not after shooting the white haired boy a dark glare. Kakashi sweat dropped at the boy's antics. He had only just noticed Itachi's dislike towards him when they had made the first stop on their little sabbatical. He had been around the boy since he was born, but he had never acted that way towards him, he always seemed to admire and look up to him. It was not until after his sister came into the picture that his attitude towards him changed. Well if anything, he thought it was cute they he was a little overprotective of her, but the boy would be in hell when she grew up. He would have to deal with all the other boys trying to flirt with his little sister. Kakashi gave a smirk. Not only was Itachi an Uchiha, he was already considered a prodigy and he had not even attended the Academy yet. Yes, Kakashi truly felt sorry for the idiot that fell in love with Uchiha Itachi's little sister.

"Kim, Kim," Kakashi yelled when he caught sight of the girl. Her bucket had fallen over her head as she was running and it refused to come off. The bucket not coming off was not the reason he was worried, it was the fact that she was to close the water for comfort. "I told you the bucket's not a helmet!"

By the time he reached the little girl she had tripped and fell into the water. He bent down and made her sit in the shallow water that only reached up to her waist. He put his hands on the bucket and pulled. Nothing happened. He tried again and got the same results. Sighing, he placed his hands on the bucket a third time and began to shake it. He shook harder when he noticed that her head was starting to slip out. With a final shake Kim's head slipped out of the yellow bucket. With a plop she landed back in the water with a grin on her face.

"Can we swim now," she asked cutely. Kakashi gave in and lifted the girl from the water, ignoring the other child's glare, and made his way to the beach house in the direction of the underground swimming pool.

When the trio walked past the front door they were ambushed by a purple blur. The purple blur turned out to be none other than Uchiha Mikoto. The woman had wrapped her arm around them and Kakashi squirmed to get out of the woman's hold. Once free he stumbled into Kushina who had one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen on her face, her smile was bigger than the one she had when Minato had proposed to her. Before he could even react the red haired woman had thrown her arms around him.

Standing at the entranceway to the part of the house that opened up to the beach were Tsunade and Jiraiya. They were enjoying the little scene that played out before them.

"You know Hime-"

"Don't even think about it," Tsunade growled raising a fist at the man in warning. She already knew what he was going to suggest something weird, and she really did not want to hear it.

"K-Kushina-san," Kakashi wheezed. "I can't breathe."

"We're pregnant," the two women exclaimed as they jumped up and down. "We're going to do La Mas together! Our baby boys will be best friends!"

"Kashi-kun is dying," Kim shouted seeing the boy's face turning blue before going limp. "I can fix him!" She jumped out of her mother's arms, pulled the one eyed boy out of the redhead's arms, and struggled to lay him on the floor. She pulled off his mask and began to shake him furiously. "I know what I'm doing; I'm a medic in training." She continued to shake the boy awake. "Wake up Kashi-teme!"

"What did you call me," Kakashi gasped out when the girl hit him on the chest.

"It's what that _big meanie_ Genma calls you," she replied innocently. Kushina and Jiraiya had burst out laughing, Tsunade wore a smile on her face, Itachi had smirk, and Mikoto had a disapproving look.

"If he's mean to you then why would you call me something he calls me," Kakashi asked confused. When Kim had first met Genma she had been excited to meet another one of Kakashi's friends, but Genma was less than amused and took an immediate disliking towards her. The feeling was mutual, seeing as the Uchiha girl did not like him either.

"So Kim you want to be a medic," Tsunade said casually as she walked over with her arms crossed.

"Yes, but my Shishou-"She stopped talking not wanting to remember.

"Well I happen to be a medic-nin myself," Tsunade stated. "I was the one who came up with the medic-nin guidelines."

"You'we my wival now," the young Uchiha girl declared suddenly pointing a finger at the blonde Sannin. That was the moment Kakashi regretted letting Kim meet Gai, although she did not meet him directly, but from a distance. Gai was still in the dark of the girl's existence, and he planned to keep it that way.

"Really know brat. When you're a full-fledged ninja come and find me," Tsunade offered. "Then we'll see if you're worthy enough to be my rival."

"Deal," Kim stated.

The rest of the week came and went. Kim learned how to swim, Itachi glared at the young white haired Jonin, Kakashi played babysitter, Jiraiya kept trying to make the young Jonin a believer while peeping on the women, Mikoto and Kushina were making plans, and Tsunade was getting drunk and teaching the children to play poker. Before they knew it, Tsunade and Jiraiya were breaking off from the group, and the rest made their way back to the Hidden Leaf.

**XxX**

"Lover," Kushina shouted as she jumped through the window of the Hokage's Tower, managing to scare a three Genin and their Jonin instructor. The fiery haired woman faced the group of four. She pointed at the door. "Get out!"

"Kushina," Minato gasped as the air was knocked out of him when his wife tackled him. He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her. The redhead then settled herself into a more comfortable position and wrapped her arms around his neck, then placing a long sensual kiss upon his lips, which the blonde all too willingly returned.

"Call Fugaku," she yelled in his ear after their _little session_. "We have great, amazing, wonderful news, dattebane!"

"Call me for what," Fugaku said walking over to the two. He turned around when he heard the sound of the door opening behind him.

"Daddy, Daddy we're going to get baby brothers," Itachi and Kim shouted as they raced over towards their father. Their father had frozen.

"Twins," the Head of the Uchiha Clan managed to get out. His wife shook her head and held up a single finger.

"I'm pregnant," Kushina shouted with a blinding smile on her face. Minato Namikaze the Yondaime Hokage was at a loss for words. A smile soon broke out on his face and her picked his wife up from around her waist and spun her around. He stopped suddenly a look of panic coming over his features.

"Ah! I'm sorry did I hurt you? Did I hurt the baby," he asked in fear.

"Minato you moron," his wife shouted as she hit him over the head. "I'm not going to break!"

"Where do babies come from," Kim questioned stopping the adults from celebrating.

"Where do they come from," Itachi asked looking at the adults. Kakashi on the other hand was smirking and trying to stifle a laugh at the turn of events.

"They come from the pumpkin patch," Kushina stated.

"They come from the tomato garden," Mikoto said at the same time as Kushina.

"How far along are you two," Fugaku asked changing the subject.

"Well Tsunade said that I was about five months along," the black haired woman answered.

Minato turned to Kushina who answered, "Two months."

"What about the thing we talked about," Fugaku asked looking down at his wife.

"She's ours," Mikoto whispered into his chest as she began to cry as he husband wrapped his arms around her. "Tsunade ran all the tests and she's biologically ours."

"How" was all Fugaku could get out. He stared at his little girl. His daughter.

"Jiraiya-sama suspects that it was Orochimaru," Mikoto breathed out. "Tsunade-sama also agrees with him." The woman then launched into detail. She also wanted Kakashi to hear it just in case he ever came back for her. She explained how Jiraiya suspects Orochimaru having a spy within the village. How he had set his sights on obtaining the Sharingan in order to mater all jutsu. Then how he must have gotten word from his spy that there was going to be a new Uchiha baby, and most likely snuck into the village. How he would be able to temporarily stop a person's heart and then restart it. Then she told them about the rumors he had heard, and then spotting him near the village the same night Kim had shown up. "She's ours Fugaku. Everyone was able to see her resemblance to us. I knew I loved her the moment I saw her. I knew our connection went much deeper than that, and it does. She is really ours. It doesn't matter how she's alive or if Sensei's theory is correct, because all that matters is that she's here with us alive."

The two men were silent, not knowing what to say.

"So I didn't imagine it when she activated the Sharingan," Kakashi whispered not wanting either Kim or Itachi to hear. The four more experienced ninja stared at him. He looked at the floor. "I thought I was just imagining things. I mean I thought I had imagined Obito for a second." He looked up at the four, and then looked back at the girl. "I'd promise to protect her, but coming from me it's all a lie and means nothing."

"Kakashi-kun that's not true," Minato tried to say but the boy had jumped out the window. "He needs more time."

"We never did give him the time to grieve," Kushina sighed. "We tried to make him forget what happened, but that's not right."

"The moment is a bit bittersweet," Mikoto commented.

"Kakashi is strong he'll get through it," Fugaku said shocking everyone in the room. He saw no point in holding a grudge against the boy. His daughter had a strange attachment to him, and his son looked up to him. Minato was his trusted friend and Kakashi was his student, he guessed he could trust the boy.

Kim was confused. First her mother tells her she is her daughter, but was she not already her daughter? Then Kakashi mumbled something she could not hear, and got sad before he jumped out of the window. While the adults were talking in hushed tones, Kim and Itachi silently snuck out of the room. The two walked down the hall, and then down the flight of stairs, although Kimi had little trouble but she managed with her brother's help. They held hands as they walked down the streets in search of the missing white haired Jonin.

The Uchiha Siblings came across an odd couple. The woman had blonde hair and angry eyes that were directed at her husband. He husband had an odd hairstyle and his hair was a dull pink.

"Oh are you two lost," the woman asked crouching down to the children's level. The two dark haired children shook their heads. They were growing impatient when the woman continued to talk about nonsense. All they wanted to do was find Kakashi, but the woman just would not stop talking. "I'm Mebuki, what are your names?"

"I'm Itachi and this is my Imouto Kim," the older of the two siblings replied. No matter how much they wanted to get away. Their mother would have their heads on a silver platter if they were rude. Even when she was not around it was as if she could sense their rudeness, and then punish them accordingly.

"Oh what lovely names," the woman gushed. She placed her hands gently on her inflated stomach. "I hope I can think of a nice name for my daughter. I only have about a moth left before she gets here."

"Whewe do babies come fwom," the almost two year old asked tilting her head to the side innocently.

The adults appeared to be flustered by the young girl's question.

"Well you see," the man spoke nervously. His wife was giving him a look that said don't-you-dare-scar-these-children-with-your-lame-puns. "Babies come from the cherry blossom trees. When spring comes the flowers will bloom, and when the petals open there will be a new baby."

"We came fwom a flowew," Kim questioned not really believing it.

"Ah! Well look at the time," Mebuki stated looking at her wrist. "I'm late for my check-up at the hospital. It was really nice meeting you two, but we must get going." With that the couple made their way in the opposite direction of the hospital. In the distance the two could hear shouts of, "Seriously? From a cherry blossom tree! Cherry blossoms! Kizashi, we should name her Sakura!"

"Baby brother and Sakuwa-chan will be bestests fwiends," Kim declared.

"Did you ask that question on purpose," Itachi asked his sister with wide eyes. She gave him a smile before skipping away. "Imouto's good."

"Why won't they tell us whewe babies come fwom," the dark haired girl asked. Her brother shrugged.

"We can always ask Shisui," he said simply. "I ask him about things all the time." He thought for a second. "Did We just name their baby?"

The two then continued their search for the white haired Jonin. Their search ended when their parents found them.

Kakashi remained unseen for the next two weeks, and Kim had been the one to find him, while she was wandering around in the forested area of the Uchiha District after some of the other children in the clan had chased her off. He had been traveling through the outskirts of the village trying to remain unseen after returning from a mission. She had been lying in the center of a clearing, when he had broken through the surrounding trees. The white haired boy was surprised to see her there, and even more surprised to see her alone.

"What are you doing here," he called out to the little girl. She then lifted her arm up and pointed towards the sky.

"Watching the fluffy kitty," she said.

Kakashi shook his head and made his way over to her. Standing beside her he asked, "Why are you alone?"

"The othew kids were being mean, and I got lost. " She shrugged her shoulders as if other children being mean to her was nothing out of the ordinary. Kakashi crouched down.

"Why were they being mean," he asked. She shrugged her shoulders again because in all honesty she did not know why. "When did they start being mean to you?"

"The day aftew we got home," she replied.

Kakashi did not need to know any more. The day they got back to the village from their little vacation, Fugaku had called a clan meeting. There were no secrets kept within the Uchiha Clan, and Kim was not an exception, although no one had expected the clan to have negative reactions towards the girl. Some even suggested the girl should be executed, since they did not know if she was a possible threat. Most of the clan refused to accept her as a part of the Uchiha Clan and refused to be in the same room as her. However, they did allow her to use the clan name, so as not to raise questions, but her relations to the main family had to be kept a secret. The reaction had been even worse when they found out that the girl was the youngest in the history of the clan to activate the Sharingan. The amount of people who accepted Kim, well, he could count them on one hand; two, when her brother was born. The parents dislike towards the girl must have spread to the children.

"I wan'na make a gawden," Kim said suddenly as she jumped to her feet. "Will you help me?"

Kakashi did not know how she could smile even when it seemed like everyone hated her. She still smiled at everyone and was her usual cheerful self. She was either ignorant or was killing them with kindness. Then again the girl was like the second coming of Kushina and Mikoto so he assumed it was the latter.

"You don't make a garden. You plant a garden," Kakashi corrected.

The white haired boy soon found himself visiting the Yamanaka Flower Shop with an excited almost two year old. After she bought everything she wanted they headed back to the clearing.

"Can we get a thing where the water goes-"She then proceeded to make hand gestures trying to explain what she wanted. She had seen a picture of it in one of her mother's gardening magazines.

"You mean a waterfall," Kakashi guessed.

"Yes."

"How would we do that?"

"With youw jutsu!"

Kakashi was about to say no and begin a lecture about abusing jutsu, but then he looked into her wide eyes and found himself forming the hand seals for a rock wall. Why did Uchiha children have such big eyes? Was it so they can practice manipulating people before they learned to use their Sharingan? That had to be the reason. A few more earth jutsu and some water jutsu later, the water fall was completed and Kakashi was exhausted.

"It's so pwetty," the two year old shouted as she stared at the magnificent sight. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she repeated over and over as she gave Kakashi the biggest hug she could muster. She released him from her grasp and stood up straight. "We need flowews!"

Kakashi groaned and considered drowning himself in the base of the waterfall, but was pulled out of his thoughts when Kim started to drag him along. Heaven forbid any of his former classmate seeing him being bossed around by a girl three times smaller than he was, and he had not been that tall to begin with. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

While they were working on the garden Kim had started to give Kakashi a single white carnation every day, much to his confusion, but he accepted them all the same. He would shake his head and then accept them. He then learned that carnations are symbolic flowers from a book the girl had been trying, and failing, to read about flowers and their meanings. _Carnations in general symbolize bonds of affection, health and energy, along with fascination and love._ He knew known that the girl was fascinated by him for a reason he did not know and that their bond was a weird one. _White carnations symbolize sweetness and loveliness, and also innocence and pure love._ He knew she was kind even to those who shunned her, and she was innocent in every meaning of the word. The white carnation really was the perfect flower to represent the young female Uchiha.

Six weeks later on Kim's official second birthday in May, the two stood back with Mikoto, Fugaku, Itachi, Kushina, Minato, and Shisui and looked at their creation.

The waterfall rested at the line of the trees. With the help of a few earth jutsu he had created a pile up of large stones and a medium sized crater that fanned out from underneath the rock pile. They had placed large gray stones around the edge of the base. With the help of a water jutsu and dumb luck, Kakashi had found an underground source of water and the waterfall came to life with clear blue water. On the opposite side of the rather large clearing Kim had planted her flower garden. The garden was nothing more than a crescent shaped patch of dirt fore she had wanted to plant seeds and watch them as they grew. She had planted an entire garden of white carnations. No matter how many times Kakashi had told her a flower garden would need more than one type of flower she persisted, and won in the end after she had started crying. Kim had decided that the clearing needed more trees, and planted baby cherry and apple trees, one of each on either sides of the crescent shaped garden.

With Kim's help Kakashi was able to deal with the loss of Rin, and she prevented him from going into a long period of depression like the one he had fallen into with the loss of Obito. The pain of losing a loved one never truly goes away, but she was able dull the ache and remind him that he still had other people to live for and that Rin would not have wanted him to stop living his life on account of her.

"Awww Kakashi-kun," Kushina cooed, "You helped your girlfriend do all this."

"Girlfriend," Fugaku sputtered shooting a hard glare at the young Hatake. Kushina and Mikoto snickered; Itachi smirked hoping for the worst, and Minato's face met the palm of his own hand. Kim was ignorant of the entire situation as she ate her slice of chocolate cake.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

"I wan'na learn to swim," the dark haired girl shouted as she watched her older brother splash around in the small waves. The girl was using her bright yellow plastic bucket as a hat. She turned to give her white haired babysitter a pleading look making sure to jut out her bottom lip.

"You can learn later in the pool. I don't want to end up losing you to the current," Kakashi said sighing as he saw that she was yet again wear her bucket as a helmet even after he had told her not to. "Your head's going to get stuck in there." She replied by sticking her tongue out at him before running off.

"Les go find she-sells," she shouted, "and stahfish and little cwabs and fishies!"

Itachi having heard her exclamation ran out of the waves and in her direction, but not after shooting the white haired boy a dark glare. Kakashi sweat dropped at the boy's antics. He had only just noticed Itachi's dislike towards him when they had made the first stop on their little sabbatical. He had been around the boy since he was born, but he had never acted that way towards him, he always seemed to admire and look up to him. It was not until after his sister came into the picture that his attitude towards him changed. Well if anything, he thought it was cute they he was a little overprotective of her, but the boy would be in hell when she grew up. He would have to deal with all the other boys trying to flirt with his little sister. Kakashi gave a smirk. Not only was Itachi an Uchiha, he was already considered a prodigy and he had not even attended the Academy yet. Yes, Kakashi truly felt sorry for the idiot that fell in love with Uchiha Itachi's little sister.

"Kim, Kim," Kakashi yelled when he caught sight of the girl. Her bucket had fallen over her head as she was running and it refused to come off. The bucket not coming off was not the reason he was worried, it was the fact that she was to close the water for comfort. "I told you the bucket's not a helmet!"

By the time he reached the little girl she had tripped and fell into the water. He bent down and made her sit in the shallow water that only reached up to her waist. He put his hands on the bucket and pulled. Nothing happened. He tried again and got the same results. Sighing, he placed his hands on the bucket a third time and began to shake it. He shook harder when he noticed that her head was starting to slip out. With a final shake Kim's head slipped out of the yellow bucket. With a plop she landed back in the water with a grin on her face.

"Can we swim now," she asked cutely. Kakashi gave in and lifted the girl from the water, ignoring the other child's glare, and made his way to the beach house in the direction of the underground swimming pool.

When the trio walked past the front door they were ambushed by a purple blur. The purple blur turned out to be none other than Uchiha Mikoto. The woman had wrapped her arm around them and Kakashi squirmed to get out of the woman's hold. Once free he stumbled into Kushina who had one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen on her face, her smile was bigger than the one she had when Minato had proposed to her. Before he could even react the red haired woman had thrown her arms around him.

Standing at the entranceway to the part of the house that opened up to the beach were Tsunade and Jiraiya. They were enjoying the little scene that played out before them.

"You know Hime-"

"Don't even think about it," Tsunade growled raising a fist at the man in warning. She already knew what he was going to suggest something weird, and she really did not want to hear it.

"K-Kushina-san," Kakashi wheezed. "I can't breathe."

"We're pregnant," the two women exclaimed as they jumped up and down. "We're going to do La Mas together! Our baby boys will be best friends!"

"Kashi-kun is dying," Kim shouted seeing the boy's face turning blue before going limp. "I can fix him!" She jumped out of her mother's arms, pulled the one eyed boy out of the redhead's arms, and struggled to lay him on the floor. She pulled off his mask and began to shake him furiously. "I know what I'm doing; I'm a medic in training." She continued to shake the boy awake. "Wake up Kashi-teme!"

"What did you call me," Kakashi gasped out when the girl hit him on the chest.

"It's what that _big meanie_ Genma calls you," she replied innocently. Kushina and Jiraiya had burst out laughing, Tsunade wore a smile on her face, Itachi had smirk, and Mikoto had a disapproving look.

"If he's mean to you then why would you call me something he calls me," Kakashi asked confused. When Kim had first met Genma she had been excited to meet another one of Kakashi's friends, but Genma was less than amused and took an immediate disliking towards her. The feeling was mutual, seeing as the Uchiha girl did not like him either.

"So Kim you want to be a medic," Tsunade said casually as she walked over with her arms crossed.

"Yes, but my Shishou-"She stopped talking not wanting to remember.

"Well I happen to be a medic-nin myself," Tsunade stated. "I was the one who came up with the medic-nin guidelines."

"You'we my wival now," the young Uchiha girl declared suddenly pointing a finger at the blonde Sannin. That was the moment Kakashi regretted letting Kim meet Gai, although she did not meet him directly, but from a distance. Gai was still in the dark of the girl's existence, and he planned to keep it that way.

"Really know brat. When you're a full-fledged ninja come and find me," Tsunade offered. "Then we'll see if you're worthy enough to be my rival."

"Deal," Kim stated.

The rest of the week came and went. Kim learned how to swim, Itachi glared at the young white haired Jonin, Kakashi played babysitter, Jiraiya kept trying to make the young Jonin a believer while peeping on the women, Mikoto and Kushina were making plans, and Tsunade was getting drunk and teaching the children to play poker. Before they knew it, Tsunade and Jiraiya were breaking off from the group, and the rest made their way back to the Hidden Leaf.

**XxX**

"Lover," Kushina shouted as she jumped through the window of the Hokage's Tower, managing to scare a three Genin and their Jonin instructor. The fiery haired woman faced the group of four. She pointed at the door. "Get out!"

"Kushina," Minato gasped as the air was knocked out of him when his wife tackled him. He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her. The redhead then settled herself into a more comfortable position and wrapped her arms around his neck, then placing a long sensual kiss upon his lips, which the blonde all too willingly returned.

"Call Fugaku," she yelled in his ear after their _little session_. "We have great, amazing, wonderful news, dattebane!"

"Call me for what," Fugaku said walking over to the two. He turned around when he heard the sound of the door opening behind him.

"Daddy, Daddy we're going to get baby brothers," Itachi and Kim shouted as they raced over towards their father. Their father had frozen.

"Twins," the Head of the Uchiha Clan managed to get out. His wife shook her head and held up a single finger.

"I'm pregnant," Kushina shouted with a blinding smile on her face. Minato Namikaze the Yondaime Hokage was at a loss for words. A smile soon broke out on his face and her picked his wife up from around her waist and spun her around. He stopped suddenly a look of panic coming over his features.

"Ah! I'm sorry did I hurt you? Did I hurt the baby," he asked in fear.

"Minato you moron," his wife shouted as she hit him over the head. "I'm not going to break!"

"Where do babies come from," Kim questioned stopping the adults from celebrating.

"Where do they come from," Itachi asked looking at the adults. Kakashi on the other hand was smirking and trying to stifle a laugh at the turn of events.

"They come from the pumpkin patch," Kushina stated.

"They come from the tomato garden," Mikoto said at the same time as Kushina.

"How far along are you two," Fugaku asked changing the subject.

"Well Tsunade said that I was about five months along," the black haired woman answered.

Minato turned to Kushina who answered, "Two months."

"What about the thing we talked about," Fugaku asked looking down at his wife.

"She's ours," Mikoto whispered into his chest as she began to cry as he husband wrapped his arms around her. "Tsunade ran all the tests and she's biologically ours."

"How" was all Fugaku could get out. He stared at his little girl. His daughter.

"Jiraiya-sama suspects that it was Orochimaru," Mikoto breathed out. "Tsunade-sama also agrees with him." The woman then launched into detail. She also wanted Kakashi to hear it just in case he ever came back for her. She explained how Jiraiya suspects Orochimaru having a spy within the village. How he had set his sights on obtaining the Sharingan in order to mater all jutsu. Then how he must have gotten word from his spy that there was going to be a new Uchiha baby, and most likely snuck into the village. How he would be able to temporarily stop a person's heart and then restart it. Then she told them about the rumors he had heard, and then spotting him near the village the same night Kim had shown up. "She's ours Fugaku. Everyone was able to see her resemblance to us. I knew I loved her the moment I saw her. I knew our connection went much deeper than that, and it does. She is really ours. It doesn't matter how she's alive or if Sensei's theory is correct, because all that matters is that she's here with us alive."

The two men were silent, not knowing what to say.

"So I didn't imagine it when she activated the Sharingan," Kakashi whispered not wanting either Kim or Itachi to hear. The four more experienced ninja stared at him. He looked at the floor. "I thought I was just imagining things. I mean I thought I had imagined Obito for a second." He looked up at the four, and then looked back at the girl. "I'd promise to protect her, but coming from me it's all a lie and means nothing."

"Kakashi-kun that's not true," Minato tried to say but the boy had jumped out the window. "He needs more time."

"We never did give him the time to grieve," Kushina sighed. "We tried to make him forget what happened, but that's not right."

"The moment is a bit bittersweet," Mikoto commented.

"Kakashi is strong he'll get through it," Fugaku said shocking everyone in the room. He saw no point in holding a grudge against the boy. His daughter had a strange attachment to him, and his son looked up to him. Minato was his trusted friend and Kakashi was his student, he guessed he could trust the boy.

Kim was confused. First her mother tells her she is her daughter, but was she not already her daughter? Then Kakashi mumbled something she could not hear, and got sad before he jumped out of the window. While the adults were talking in hushed tones, Kim and Itachi silently snuck out of the room. The two walked down the hall, and then down the flight of stairs, although Kimi had little trouble but she managed with her brother's help. They held hands as they walked down the streets in search of the missing white haired Jonin.

The Uchiha Siblings came across an odd couple. The woman had blonde hair and angry eyes that were directed at her husband. He husband had an odd hairstyle and his hair was a dull pink.

"Oh are you two lost," the woman asked crouching down to the children's level. The two dark haired children shook their heads. They were growing impatient when the woman continued to talk about nonsense. All they wanted to do was find Kakashi, but the woman just would not stop talking. "I'm Mebuki, what are your names?"

"I'm Itachi and this is my Imouto Kim," the older of the two siblings replied. No matter how much they wanted to get away. Their mother would have their heads on a silver platter if they were rude. Even when she was not around it was as if she could sense their rudeness, and then punish them accordingly.

"Oh what lovely names," the woman gushed. She placed her hands gently on her inflated stomach. "I hope I can think of a nice name for my daughter. I only have about a moth left before she gets here."

"Whewe do babies come fwom," the almost two year old asked tilting her head to the side innocently.

The adults appeared to be flustered by the young girl's question.

"Well you see," the man spoke nervously. His wife was giving him a look that said don't-you-dare-scar-these-children-with-your-lame-puns. "Babies come from the cherry blossom trees. When spring comes the flowers will bloom, and when the petals open there will be a new baby."

"We came fwom a flowew," Kim questioned not really believing it.

"Ah! Well look at the time," Mebuki stated looking at her wrist. "I'm late for my check-up at the hospital. It was really nice meeting you two, but we must get going." With that the couple made their way in the opposite direction of the hospital. In the distance the two could hear shouts of, "Seriously? From a cherry blossom tree! Cherry blossoms! Kizashi, we should name her Sakura!"

"Baby brother and Sakuwa-chan will be bestests fwiends," Kim declared.

"Did you ask that question on purpose," Itachi asked his sister with wide eyes. She gave him a smile before skipping away. "Imouto's good."

"Why won't they tell us whewe babies come fwom," the dark haired girl asked. Her brother shrugged.

"We can always ask Shisui," he said simply. "I ask him about things all the time." He thought for a second. "Did We just name their baby?"

The two then continued their search for the white haired Jonin. Their search ended when their parents found them.

Kakashi remained unseen for the next two weeks, and Kim had been the one to find him, while she was wandering around in the forested area of the Uchiha District after some of the other children in the clan had chased her off. He had been traveling through the outskirts of the village trying to remain unseen after returning from a mission. She had been lying in the center of a clearing, when he had broken through the surrounding trees. The white haired boy was surprised to see her there, and even more surprised to see her alone.

"What are you doing here," he called out to the little girl. She then lifted her arm up and pointed towards the sky.

"Watching the fluffy kitty," she said.

Kakashi shook his head and made his way over to her. Standing beside her he asked, "Why are you alone?"

"The othew kids were being mean, and I got lost. " She shrugged her shoulders as if other children being mean to her was nothing out of the ordinary. Kakashi crouched down.

"Why were they being mean," he asked. She shrugged her shoulders again because in all honesty she did not know why. "When did they start being mean to you?"

"The day aftew we got home," she replied.

Kakashi did not need to know any more. The day they got back to the village from their little vacation, Fugaku had called a clan meeting. There were no secrets kept within the Uchiha Clan, and Kim was not an exception, although no one had expected the clan to have negative reactions towards the girl. Some even suggested the girl should be executed, since they did not know if she was a possible threat. Most of the clan refused to accept her as a part of the Uchiha Clan and refused to be in the same room as her. However, they did allow her to use the clan name, so as not to raise questions, but her relations to the main family had to be kept a secret. The reaction had been even worse when they found out that the girl was the youngest in the history of the clan to activate the Sharingan. The amount of people who accepted Kim, well, he could count them on one hand; two, when her brother was born. The parents dislike towards the girl must have spread to the children.

"I wan'na make a gawden," Kim said suddenly as she jumped to her feet. "Will you help me?"

Kakashi did not know how she could smile even when it seemed like everyone hated her. She still smiled at everyone and was her usual cheerful self. She was either ignorant or was killing them with kindness. Then again the girl was like the second coming of Kushina and Mikoto so he assumed it was the latter.

"You don't make a garden. You plant a garden," Kakashi corrected.

The white haired boy soon found himself visiting the Yamanaka Flower Shop with an excited almost two year old. After she bought everything she wanted they headed back to the clearing.

"Can we get a thing where the water goes-"She then proceeded to make hand gestures trying to explain what she wanted. She had seen a picture of it in one of her mother's gardening magazines.

"You mean a waterfall," Kakashi guessed.

"Yes."

"How would we do that?"

"With youw jutsu!"

Kakashi was about to say no and begin a lecture about abusing jutsu, but then he looked into her wide eyes and found himself forming the hand seals for a rock wall. Why did Uchiha children have such big eyes? Was it so they can practice manipulating people before they learned to use their Sharingan? That had to be the reason. A few more earth jutsu and some water jutsu later, the water fall was completed and Kakashi was exhausted.

"It's so pwetty," the two year old shouted as she stared at the magnificent sight. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she repeated over and over as she gave Kakashi the biggest hug she could muster. She released him from her grasp and stood up straight. "We need flowews!"

Kakashi groaned and considered drowning himself in the base of the waterfall, but was pulled out of his thoughts when Kim started to drag him along. Heaven forbid any of his former classmate seeing him being bossed around by a girl three times smaller than he was, and he had not been that tall to begin with. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

While they were working on the garden Kim had started to give Kakashi a single white carnation every day, much to his confusion, but he accepted them all the same. He would shake his head and then accept them. He then learned that carnations are symbolic flowers from a book the girl had been trying, and failing, to read about flowers and their meanings. _Carnations in general symbolize bonds of affection, health and energy, along with fascination and love._ He knew known that the girl was fascinated by him for a reason he did not know and that their bond was a weird one. _White carnations symbolize sweetness and loveliness, and also innocence and pure love._ He knew she was kind even to those who shunned her, and she was innocent in every meaning of the word. The white carnation really was the perfect flower to represent the young female Uchiha.

Six weeks later on Kim's official second birthday in May, the two stood back with Mikoto, Fugaku, Itachi, Kushina, Minato, and Shisui and looked at their creation.

The waterfall rested at the line of the trees. With the help of a few earth jutsu he had created a pile up of large stones and a medium sized crater that fanned out from underneath the rock pile. They had placed large gray stones around the edge of the base. With the help of a water jutsu and dumb luck, Kakashi had found an underground source of water and the waterfall came to life with clear blue water. On the opposite side of the rather large clearing Kim had planted her flower garden. The garden was nothing more than a crescent shaped patch of dirt fore she had wanted to plant seeds and watch them as they grew. She had planted an entire garden of white carnations. No matter how many times Kakashi had told her a flower garden would need more than one type of flower she persisted, and won in the end after she had started crying. Kim had decided that the clearing needed more trees, and planted baby cherry and apple trees, one of each on either sides of the crescent shaped garden.

With Kim's help Kakashi was able to deal with the loss of Rin, and she prevented him from going into a long period of depression like the one he had fallen into with the loss of Obito. The pain of losing a loved one never truly goes away, but she was able dull the ache and remind him that he still had other people to live for and that Rin would not have wanted him to stop living his life on account of her.

"Awww Kakashi-kun," Kushina cooed, "You helped your girlfriend do all this."

"Girlfriend," Fugaku sputtered shooting a hard glare at the young Hatake. Kushina and Mikoto snickered; Itachi smirked hoping for the worst, and Minato's face met the palm of his own hand. Kim was ignorant of the entire situation as she ate her slice of chocolate cake.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to those who reviewed chapter seven: Summer time 10101, Black-White Crow, idea getthe, and Musical cake.**

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHT

It had been decided after about four days of arguing with the clan head of the Uchiha clan that the young Uchiha girl would start learning how to mold chakra properly. Fugaku had been against the idea of his precious little girl becoming a ninja where she would be guaranteed injuries of all sorts and potentially be killed, but Mikoto had lost her patience and forcefully changed her husband's mind, although he says he only let her begin ninja training to fend off boys like the, so called, Copy Ninja.

Mikoto and Kushina had wanted to teach the young girl the basics of ninja training, but due to their pregnancies they were unable to teach her anything physical. They had left the physical training to their husbands, Minato more so than Fugaku. Mikoto did not trust Fugaku when it came to their daughter's ninja training, and worried for the young Hatake's safety. Instead the two women would go over the basics of Kunoichi lessons.

"Alright, sweetheart," the dark haired woman said catching the attention of her daughter. The three of them – Mikoto, Kushina, and Kim – were sitting on a blanket in the garden in the woods. "As women we are generally smaller than men, and that sometimes puts us at a disadvantage."

"But that does not mean we are weaker than the men, dattebane," Kushina added. "I just means we have to use our girly-ness to our advantage."

"A Kunoichi is most commonly a female ninja who uses their sexuality, or girly side, to take down our enemies. As a Kunoichi we have to take care of not only our ninja skills, but our physical appearances as well," Mikoto went on.

"We have to work extra hard to make sure we don't get to many visible scars. Some boys and girls might say you're weaker because you pay more attention to your appearance, but always remember your physical appearance can be one of your greatest weapons if you use it right. Sometimes even the strongest of men are helpless when it comes to dealing with a woman in tears," the redhead explained with a smirk.

"Exactly," Mikoto agreed with a smile of her own. "As much as it pains me to say it, but men will most likely drop their guards when they think you're just a harmless little girl. So in addition to the regular ninja training, we have to basically stay pretty." She took a deep breath. "There will come a day when you get sent out on a mission where you have to seduce your target or you need to make an escape, and that is when your appearance comes into play."

"What does seduce mean," the young girl questioned when the lesson got to a term she did not understand.

"You will understand when you're older," her mother replied not wanting to get into that topic with her two-year-old daughter just yet. "Also when you need to go undercover, you can take on the disguise of just about anything. In whatever you disguise yourself as you can hide your weapons in your outfit, like if you have long sleeves or are wearing a belt. I even once hid a few senbon in the heel of a pair of high heels. Your Aunty and I even created a nail polish that has poison in it. So if you grow your nails out a little bit then you can scratch your enemy and the nail polish once it comes into direct contact with their blood it will cause them a lot of pain."

"Your hair is another thing, ttebane," Kushina stated holding up a finger pointing at the little girl's messy black hair. "Many men like long hair. Again some boys and girls will say it gets in the way, but it's important to your image as a Kunoichi. Also if a ninja lets something as simple such as the length of their hair hinder their abilities, then they have no right to be called a ninja. Some of the strongest ninja have had long hair such as the two founders of this village Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. Me and your mother also have long hair, but we don't let that get in our way, dattebane! Make sure you always wash and brush it so that it stays soft and smells good."

"Your skin is the most important," Mikoto pointed out, and Kushina nodded. "You need to try your best to not get many scars, but that does not mean you should not help a comrade in need just to avoid getting them," she stated in a stern voice. Kim nodded in understanding. Even though she was so young she already knew she would risk anything if it meant she protected the people she cared about. The two women smiled at her. "You will need to use whatever lotions you like when you get older so that your skin stays soft to the touch. You'll need to make sure to wash your face before you got to bed, and after you wake up. Never use a lot of makeup, not only is it bad for your skin, but it will make you look cheap."

"Sadly we know a few girls who let all this must-keep-our-appearances thing go to their heads and got themselves killed because they were vain and skipped out on training," the red haired woman said sadly. "Never become like them. Yes your appearance is important, but never let that get in the way of your training. Your training as a ninja will always come first, and you will manage your personal grooming in your free time."

The little girl nodded her head eager to hear more. She had moved from her crossed leg position to lay on her stomach with her head propped up by her hands.

"Another important thing for Kunoichi to learn are things like making flower arrangements, sewing, cooking, proper etiquette or playing an instrument. All these things might seem like chores or meaningless but they will help you if you ever need to go undercover," the dark eyed woman explained. "But as my daughter you will learn how to cook whether you want to or not." Kim gave a slight pout and hung her head. "And as an Uchiha, you will have proper etiquette drilled into you." She allowed her arms and head to fall onto the blanket. "Your brother plays the piano and violin so maybe he could teach you." Kim's head snapped up and her eyes brightened at the last part.

"The last topic for today's lesson is," Kushina paused making the little girl lean forward in anticipation," How to mess with the enemy's emotions. You're going to need to learn how to manipulate them and get inside their heads, but you will learn how to do that later."

"So did you get all that," the women asked in unison.

"I got it," Kim chirped, a bright smile on her face. The two women could see how the girl worked to store all the information they had just given her as she made her way back to the Uchiha Compound most likely to find Kakashi or Itachi and tell them about her lesson for the day.

"Miko-chan our love child will be the best Kunoichi to have ever existed," Kushina said wiping a tear.

"She'll be gorgeous because she's our love child, and she'll be playing with the enemies' hearts and emotions like a pro. She'll be a natural," Mikoto cried.

"Damn these mood swings! Damn the men who made us like this," they cursed simultaneously.

**XxX**

In the Hokage's Office and in the main office of the Konoha Military police Force two men suddenly had violent shivers run down their spines.

_"I wonder what I did this time,"_ they both thought while rubbing their heads feeling matching headaches coming on, and earning strange looks from the others around them.

**XxX**

"Alright Kimi-chan, we're going to work on chakra today," Minato explained to the two year old. "Chakra is the first step to being able to perform any jutsu. I'm pretty sure you already know what jutsu are, so we can skip that part for now."

"Okay Minato-sensei," Kim agreed wanting to get to the good parts.

"Chakra is created when you mold your physical energy and spiritual energy together. Your physical energy is in every single cell in your body, and your spiritual energy comes from training and experience. The chakra you mold is then stored within your body, and then can be released through the chakra points or tenketsu. The most common way we control and manipulate our chakra is through hand seals. There are twelve hand seals in total, but an infinite amount of jutsu they can create." Minato turned his head to the side. "Kakashi, Itachi would you care to demonstrate the hand seals?"

The two boys made their way to stand next to Minato and proceeded to perform the twelve hand seals: "Bird, boar, dog, dragon, ox, tiger, snake, rat, horse, monkey, hare, and ram."

"Those are the twelve hand seals you will need to memorize if you want to perform any jutsu, but before that you need to be able to mold chakra," the blonde stated with a kind smile. "We all create normal chakra, but to be able to perform any type of jutsu we need more than the normal amount. So we start of by molding chakra through meditation, and then later on when you get the hang of it you will be able to mold chakra without even thinking of it. Then once your able to mold chakra we'll move on to performing simple Academy level jutsu like the Bunshin and Henge no Jutsu."

**XxX**

"We're going to work on Taijutsu, or hand to hand combat, and Shurikenjutsu," Fugaku stated. "Before we start working on your Taijutsu we need to bring up your stamina and strength. For Shurikenjutsu we will work with kunai and shuriken, and more specialized weapons whenever you find a weapon your particularly interested in. we'll work mostly on your aim and accuracy. It won't be easy, and will take a lot of work. Do you still want to be a ninja?"

"Yes daddy," Kim whined.

"Ninja don't whine," Fugaku stated bluntly in a stern tone.

"Sorry," the girl apologized. The man ruffled her hair, and she gave him a beaming smile.

"For your Taijutsu we'll start with the basics, as always, and then work our way up from there. Once we have the basics down to pat, then we'll start working on finding a fighting style that suits you or creating a fighting style of your own, and work on the Uchiha Style."

"Uchiha Style is just a bunch of fighting styles mixed together," Itachi stated in a bored tone, twirling a kunai around one finger. Minato had to suppress a laugh at that, and Kakashi gave a small smile. Fugaku on the other hand was glaring at his son, who was not really paying him any attention.

"When you get better at Shurikenjutsu and Ninjutsu then you will be able to combine the two to make new techniques. You will also be able to combine Taijutsu with Ninjutsu and Taijutsu with Shurikenjutsu. Then possibly Genjutsu with either of the three," Fugaku added making Kim's eyes light up with all the possibilities. "Then when you get really good, you can become the next Clan Head."

"Hey," Itachi shouted indigently dropping his kunai and cutting his finger in the process. "I'm supposed to be the next clan head!"

"Don't insult the Uchiha Style," Fugaku stated simply, causing Minato to burst out laughing.

Itachi pouted and crossed his arms in anger. The boy ended up glaring at the other boy in the room. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the rejected Clan Head's glare.

"Nii-san don't be mean to Kashi-kun," Kim complained trying, and failing, to keep herself from whining. When Itachi completely ignored her, she tried throwing a kunai at him but it did not go very far before falling miserably to the ground. Getting angry, she walked over to her brother and punched him in the shoulder. "Don't be a jerk, Itachi-nii!" Itachi stared wide-eyed at his little sister.

"Just like Kushina," Minato said shuddering.

"Fugaku it's time," Mikoto stated running over to the group from the house with excited eyes.

"It's time for lunch already," Minato questioned. Kakashi face palmed, and Fugaku gave the blonde man an exasperated look.

"Minato-chan I know you you're a clueless idiot, but please tell the you won't be this stupid when Naruto-kun is born," Kushina said appearing behind her husband, hair floating and fists clenched.

"What the baby's coming," Minato shouted when realization dawned on him. "But it's too early! The doctor said he wouldn't be here until October!" He grabbed his wife by the arm and was about to start pulling her in the direction of the hospital when he was hit upside the head.

"Not me, you idiot," Kushina growled, her eye twitching furiously. "Mikoto is in labor!"

"Oh," Minato said stupidly. He rounded on the dark haired man. "How are you so calm?"

"This is my third," Fugaku stated.

"And he's the Hokage," Kakashi muttered.

"I'm in labor and you guys are just talking about nothing of importance," Mikoto ground out letting waves of killer intent roll off her pregnant body.

"Right the baby," Fugaku stated, as he prepared everything for the trip to the hospital.

When the group had reached the hospital, Mikoto was rushed off to a room. The doctor had informed her that she was not yet dilated, and left. Six hours of labor later and the Uchiha matriarch was dilated the full ten centimeters and ready to deliver her third child. Giving birth was a painful event, considering the woman refused to be on any type of pain medication fore she did not want to drug her baby, but it was all worth it when her little baby boy was placed in her tired arms.

"Sasuke," Mikoto whispered softly to the newest member of their family. She touched his cheek gently with her finger, and he grabbed it with his tiny hand. She looked over at Fugaku. "Thank you." He husband smiled at her, and placed a kiss on her sweaty forehead.

"Hello Sasuke," Fugaku greeted his son for the first time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Musical cake:** You might want to hold on to that thought. I have lots of plans for the Uchiha siblings when they get a little older. I know one of them involves why Sasuke has a strong love for tomatoes.

**Black-White Crow: **Ahhh! You called me Cherry-sensei! *gives a bow* Thank you for agreeing with me about the issue on the Kunoichi. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. In my opinion, anyone would have looked weak in Sakura's position. I mean, you have Uzumaki Naruto son of the Yondaime and Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki, Uchiha Sasuke descendant of Uchiha Madara and the supposed last Uchiha, and then Hatake Kakashi son of the White Fang and former ANBU. Then again Naruto and Sasuke never really gave her the chance to be of any use, until they were both knocked out during the Chunin Exams.

* * *

CHAPTER NINE

"Huh, is it a girl," Kushina asked when she walked into the room. It was a few hours after Mikoto had given birth and been moved into a new room. The group that had been in the waiting room had rushed in as soon as they were given the okay.

"No it's a boy. I thought I already told you that," Mikoto said calmly.

"Oh, well I thought Tsunade was wrong. He does look a little girly," the redhead continued looking over the baby boy with critical eyes. "But then again Minato was really girly and he turned out alright." Minato hung his head, and Kakashi patted his back. "What's his name?"

"Sasuke," the black haired woman said as she looked down at her son.

"That's the name of the Sandaime's father," Minato pointed out, coming out of his moment of depression and standing behind his wife.

"Yes, and I'm sure he'll become a fine shinobi one day," the Uchiha woman hoped.

"Oh Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun will be in the same grade," Kushina stated. "I hope they become friends, dattebane." She then leaned forward and placed a hand on the side of her mouth to whisper into her friend's ear. "By the way… does it hurt? Like bad?"

"Well, well, even you're afraid of something. I'll be," Mikoto joked in shock with a smug look on her face.

"Miko-chan, don't mock me," Kushina complained.

"Only a little," the woman stated. Fugaku gave a snort at his wife's answer, and discreetly motioned to Minato that it was all a lie, and showed the blonde man his bandaged hand.

Mikoto rested on her bed with her newborn baby held securely in her arms. Itachi and Kim both sat in front of their mother inspecting their new baby brother. Sasuke blinked at his older siblings not really understanding anything that was going on. The baby just grabbed at their hands when they were within his reach.

"Look Kimi-chan, Itachi-kun he likes you," Mikoto said to the little girl.

"Can we keep him," Kimi asked innocently causing the adults in the room to laugh. Her face turned as red as her favorite fruit, which just so happened to be cherries.

"Of course we're keeping him," Fugaku answered his daughter's question.

**XxX**

A month had passed since the arrival of the newest member of the Uchiha clan, and there were only two months left until the birth of the Hokage's first child. Like all newborn babies Uchiha Sasuke did not sleep the whole night and needed to be fed, and have his diaper changed at odd intervals throughout the entire day. Caring for her newborn son took up most of Mikoto's time, and new cases arriving at the Police Force kept Fugaku busy. Itachi had been by training alone in preparation for when he would start the Academy the following year. Kakashi had started to take up more missions, and was looking into enlisting in the ANBU. Minato and Kushina had been kept busy by making accommodations for the arrival of their son, and Minato was in the middle of drawing up a peace treaty with the Kazekage.

Kim, on the other hand, was mostly on her own. Itachi would play with her every so often, but she would grow bored when all the other children within the clan would avoid her like the plague and the fact that she was not allowed to leave the District on her own. She loved her new baby brother, but she just wished he were old enough to play with her.

She sighed and dropped her head in her hands where her arms were propped up on her knees.

"Why the long face squirt," a familiar voice called out to the girl. Her onyx eyes snapped open to find Shisui's face barely an inch away from her own. She gave a squeak and fell back wards on the porch. "Ha-ha, sorry kid, didn't mean to scare you." The older Uchiha boy gave her an apologetic smile as he helped her back into her sitting position. He then plopped down beside her and gave her a curious look. "So what's got you so down?"

"I'm bowed," she replied quietly. Her shoulders slumped as she said, "No one has time to play with me. Mommy has to take cawe of Sasuke-kun, Daddy is busy at wowk, Kashi-kun has missions, and Aunty Kushina and Mina-sensei have to get weady fow Nawuto-kun, and then all the other kids awe being jewks."

"Oh I see," Shisui said rubbing his chin in thought. He got up suddenly and walked away.

"Not even Shisui-nii-chan wants to play with me," the little dark haired girl sulked as she threw herself backwards into a lying position. She swung her feet back and forth as she closed her eyes. Her nose twitched when she felt something furry brush against it. At first she ignored it, but then the furry thing would not go away. "Wha-"

"Kim-chan meet Blaze," Shisui stated as held up tiny black kitten in his hands. "I was going to keep him, but I have missions. So I was thinking, maybe you could take care of him for me." He smiled as the girl continued to stare at the kitten. "You know, he says he wants to be a ninja too, so maybe the two of you can train together."

"Weally we can twain togethew," Kimi said excitedly.

"Yeah, and we'll be the bestest team ever," Blaze shouted as he jumped down from Shisui's hands and landed beside the girl.

"Let's go right now," Kim yelled over her shoulder as she made her way in the direction of her secret garden.

"The cat talks," Shisui muttered. "Since when does the cat talk? This must be that Uchiha Madness Tou-san told me about… or was it Sharingan Madness. I need a nap." He then made his way back home picking up his book bag as he went. The nine year old walked the rest of the way home in a daze.

**XxX**

"Hey Kimi, do you want to help me with something," Kushina asked the girl sweetly.

Suwe," the Uchiha answered excitedly.

"Alright," the woman exclaimed with a mischievous grin on her face. "But first, let's go play dress up!" She then grabbed the little girl's hand and led her to her bedroom. Once inside Kim's bedroom Kushina began to search for the perfect outfit for the little girl. She pulled out multiple dresses form the closet before deciding on one. She found a pair of the young girl's shoes that matched perfectly with the dress. Before getting her dressed, the Uzumaki fixed her hair and did her make-up. After examining the girl, she beamed, and led her to the Hokage's office. Standing before the door to the office Kushina crouched down, with great difficulty thanks to her over inflated belly, to the Uchiha girl's height. "Okay Kimi, this is what I need you to do…" she whispered her plan into the two-year-old girl's ear.

Kimi ran through the door to the office after Kushina had held it open for her yelling, "Look daddy, I look like a pwincess!" She gave a little twirl allowing the skirt of her white dress to flare up. The short heels on her sandals clacked on the hardwood flooring as she ran to give the quiet white haired boy a hug. "Now me and Kashi-kun can get mawwied."

Fugaku choked on his spit and stared wide eyed at his daughter. He could not believe the words that had come out of his sweet and innocent little girl's mouth. It had to be a joke, some type of prank, or was he being filmed by one of those stupid TV shows and someone was going to jump out and say "Gotcha!" As the head of the Uchiha Clan and the Captain of the Konoha's Military Police Force, Fugaku rarely ever lost his composure and had amazing restraint, but all that was violently lifted and thrown out the window when his little girl planted a kiss on the Hatake's cheek.

Without thinking, the Uchiha lunged at the young white haired boy, and Kakashi had every right to look frightened. Minato jumped in front of Kakashi trying to shield him from the dark haired man, although he was struggling. The two men froze when they hears laughter coming from the other side of the door.

"Ah Kim-chan, that was amazing," Kushina praised as she walked into the room not even bothering to hide her amusement. She gave a teasing grin to Fugaku. "Who knew daddy could be so protective of his little girl? Well Fuga-chan," said man scowled at the nickname, "I feel sorry for you when she starts taking a _real_ interest in boys."

"Kushina," the woman's husband groaned. As the redhead entered her last two months of her pregnancy, she had taken her hobby of pranking people to a completely new level stating that she would not have much time to pull pranks once she gave birth. No one was truly safe from the red haired Jinchuriki. Just that week she had put miniature explosive seals in his breakfast, wrote 'FLASHER" in bright yellow paint across his forehead on the Hokage Monument, dyed Kakashi's hair red and tried to pass him off as her son, stole Mikoto's bras and shortened her dresses, told Itachi he could not keep his siblings, and that was only the beginning. The only person who had not been pranked was Kimi, and that was only because the two year old was helping her. The worst part of it all was that it was only Tuesday.

"Yes Flasher," the red haired woman said innocently while rubbing her stomach in a soothing manner. She smiled widely when she felt Naruto kick.

"Don't call me that," Minato complained.

"Don't whine," Kushina snapped.

"I never really liked you much, but I do hope my daughter ends up like you and Mikoto," Fugaku said to the redhead.

"I never liked you either," she waved off, "I only put up with you for Mikoto's sake."

"Sensei I think Hell just froze over," Kakashi commented. As far as anyone knew, Fugaku and Kushina could never agree on anything. The two would always argue to prove their point, even over the most trivial matters.

"Not really. It's common knowledge that they don't like each other," Minato reassured his student.

"Let's go Kim-chan," Kushina called out to the young girl. "We've got some Academy students to prank!" With that the two girls left the room.

"She's only two years old, and she's already more trouble than she's worth," Kakashi muttered before he leapt out of the window to prepare for a mission.

"Ah, Kakashi-kun the best ones always are," Minato stated as he watched the white haired boy run over the rooftops to get back to his apartment. 'You'll be singing a different tune one day." The blonde Hokage felt a prickle on the back of his neck. He turned his head to come face to with a glaring Fugaku. "W-What?"

"Don't encourage him," Fugaku growled.

"Why not Kakashi's a good kid," the Hokage retorted with a raised eyebrow.

"He's much too old for her."

"Aren't you like five years older than Mikoto?" Fugaku glared harder, and Minato gave a smirk. "She could do a lot worse than Kakashi. I mean, she could fall for someone like Gai or Genma."

"It's not our decision who she loves," Fugaku said with a smirk as he walked towards the door. Minato's smug smirk fell.

"Stupid Uchiha, always have to get the last word," he grumbled. To make matters worse a Chunin had walked in after Fugaku had left to drop off a stack of paperwork almost as tall as he was. He picked up the first file off the top of the stack and began to read it. He read the summary on the first page.

The first file was from Shikaku sating that all the Nara's deer had gone missing. He quickly set the file down to pull out another one from the pile.

_How did they get lost? I though they lived in the forest, maybe their hiding or something._

The second file was from Hyuuga Hiashi stating that the Hyuuga Compounds had been invaded by rampaging deer.

_Shikaku, I found your missing deer,_ Minato thought. _I wonder how they got there._ Realization suddenly dawned on him and he released a sigh.

The third file was from Choza saying that someone had delivered fake flyers stating that a new all-you-can-eat restaurant had recently opened up, and when they got there, it was just an empty warehouse.

_Of course, it would be empty._

The fourth file was from Tsume. She wrote that someone had set off multiple stink bombs within the Inuzuka grounds, causing many of the Inuzuka to pass out from the strong odor and require medical attention.

_I hope Kakashi wasn't caught in that._

The fifth file was from – Minato had to reread the name multiple times before he got it – Shibi alerting him that many of the Aburame's bugs had gone missing.

_I'm sure I'll find them…_

The sixth file was from Inoichi. Apparently, someone had switched their weed killer for sugar water, and they were having a bug infestation problem.

_I found them – what was his name again?_

The seventh file was from the Academy. Some students reported that the bathrooms were haunted by a red monster and a little ghost.

_I wonder who the red monster and the little ghost are,_ he though dryly.

The eighth file was a bill from the Ichiraku Ramen shop.

_At least they're eating and taking breaks._

The ninth file was oddly enough from Fugaku. He informed the blonde that his wife somehow managed to sneak into the Uchiha District and cover all the members of his clan in glitter and the proceeded to call them vampires.

_Ah Fugaku, you may have gotten the last word but I got the last laugh._


	10. Chapter 10

**Triple T 123: **Thanks! I honestly have no clue where the inspiration for that prank came from. It was all completely random. OMG! Another person called me Cherry-sensei! *does weird happy dance*

**Musical cake: **I thank you for finding my last chapter funny. I was kinda worried that no one would. *wipes forehead* Mission accomplished! There will be more of Blaze in this chapter. Although his name wasn't supposed to be Blaze it was supposed to be Crow, but my cat Blaze was being annoying and, well, I typed what I yelled.

**Black-White Crow: **Yes the name sticks! I will teach everyone the ways of the cherry! Lol! I have some future plans for Sakura so... Thanks for the love, man! Laugh all you want, but don't hurt yourself. For the nin-tails attack... I have some plans. I won't answer your question, so you'll have to read the chapter to find out.

**angel alvarez: **I'm glad that you like my story! You have the same name as my little sister's friend from school. How crazy is that?!

* * *

CHAPTER TEN

"That kid needs to come out already," Fugaku shouted. "I'll take him out myself if I have to!" The Uchiha had once again become the victim of yet another one of Kushina's pranks. When he had walked into the bathroom that morning for a shower, he was surprised to see the bathtub overflowing with baby octopi. The worst part was that they were still alive, and he could not just throw them away.

Kakashi had somehow managed to get rid of his red hair, although it remained pink for about four days. The pink haired Hatake had also woken up on an inflatable mattress floating in the Naka River.

Minato had to stop relying on Kushina to cook meals, and had to cook for himself even if what he made was not edible, in that case he would just go out to eat. His wife had stopped pranking him, but her still had to deal with large amounts of paperwork.

Itachi had become a perfect little angel after Kushina had told him if he were bad then someone would take his baby brother and little sister away forever. The redhead also told him that if he ate the seeds from inside fruit they would grow in his stomach.

Mikoto took all her best friend's pranks with grace. She did not mind that she was missing all her bras, or that all her dresses and skirts had gotten shorter. Fugaku and many of the men in the village did not seem to mind either. Though she did mind when Kushina kept kidnapping her daughter.

"Mommy whewe's Aunty Kushina and Minato-sensei," Kim asked her mother for what was the millionth time that day. To be honest Mikoto was starting to become worried, but tried her best to hide it so as not to scare her children. The last time she had seen her red haired best friend was that morning when she had gone into the market with Sasuke. Kushina had a brief conversation with her before walking off with Biwako – the Sandaime's wife. Fugaku had informed her that Minato was missing as well, and that the Sandaime had taken over in his absence. The Uchiha woman knew that Kushina was due soon and hoped that nothing had gone wrong with the baby.

"She's with your Uncle Minato sweetheart," Mikoto told her two year old gently. She pulled the blanket over her daughter's small form. "It's time for your afternoon nap. You'll see Aunty Kushina and Uncle Minato later, alright."

"Okay mommy," Kimi said as she rolled onto her side. She snuggled deeper into her mattress as she watched her mother walk out of the room and closing the door behind her. When she heard her mother's footsteps fade away she whispered, "Blaze awe you still awake?"

"We're gonna go look for Minato and Kushina," Blaze asked, although it was more of a statement since he already knew the answer.

"Yup," the dark haired girl confirmed popping the P. She slid out of her bed quietly careful not to make any noise when her feet touched the ground. Her feet softly padded across the hardwood flooring as she walked moved around her room. She changed out of her pajamas and into a pair of red cotton shorts and a plain black T-shirt that lacked the red and white Uchiha crest on the back. She pulled out an extra pair of ninja sandals out of her closet and went to sit on her windowsill to put them on. "Weady yet?"

"Been ready," the little black kitten informed, "Land on the pads of your feet and not your heels."

"Okay," Kimi said as she slowly pulled open the window and slid out. She landed in a soft crouch after momentarily losing her balance. Blaze landed beside her without any problem. "Show off."

"Be silent and run on the pads of your feet like me, and stay out of sight," the kitten stated. With that, the duo ran through the Uchiha District in the direction of the main gate. The two made it to the gate with only one bump in the road. A couple and their son had caught them, but they completely ignored them once they saw who it was. Kimi sighed at her clansmen's behavior. She really did not know what she did to offend them, but she was going to prove that she belonged. After passing the couple, the duo ran straight towards the main gate, and slipped out of the district. She took the road that would lead her to the main road of Konoha.

During her search for Kushina and Minato, Kimi had walked by a park. She stopped by the fence to look at all the other kids playing on the playground equipment. She was shocked when a little girl about the same age as her older brother ran up to her with a smile on her face. All the other kids from the clan always picked on her or just completely ignored her, but they never really approached her. Kimi had no clue on what she should do, so she just stood there slightly shaking.

"Come play with me," the brown haired girl said with a smile. For a moment, Kimi had thought it was Rin, but then she remembered that the markings on Rin's face had looked like purple rectangles. The markings on the brown haired girl's face were red-ish purple and were shaped like upside down triangles. "Hey are you okay?"

Kimi was scared of what the older girl might do to her, and she missed Rin more than anything in the world. She did not know what to do. Her body was frozen and she could not get it to respond to her mental commands. She did the only thing she could and that was to start crying.

"Don't cry," the older girl said in shock. "I just wanted to play. The boy said I couldn't play with them since I'm a girl, but now that you're here we can play together." She grabbed Kimi by the hand. "Let's go get ice cream. My mommy said that ice cream makes everything better. That and cake!"

The young Uchiha was confused. Why was this strange girl being so nice to her? Why didn't she treat her like all the other kids did? Quietly she asked, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Why wouldn't I be nice to you," the girl retorted giving her a bewildered look. "Are there other kids bullying you?" She gave a horrified face. "Don't worry, I'm nice to everyone I meet, so unless you're mean to me then I'll be mean to you. But you look like you're really nice. So now we can go play!" With that short explanation, the brown haired girl pulled the smaller girl by the wrist and pulled her into the park.

Blaze followed after the two girls and jumped into a tree to keep a better watch on the small Uchiha. He would have stayed in the tree keeping watch on his friend, but her caught sight of a few butterflies.

The dark haired two year old soon lost herself as she played with the older brown haired girl, and forgot that she was supposed to be looking for the red haired Jinchuriki and the blonde haired Hokage. Together the two girls took a stand against the group of boys who refused to let them get on the swings.

"Hey kid what's your name," the brown haired girl asked as she swung back and forth on the wooden swing.

"I'm Kim," the little girl chirped as she swung her legs back and forth trying, and failing, to swing herself. "What about you?"

"I'm Hana," the older girl replied. "I'm from the Inuzuka clan. We specialize in collab-colla- uh… we do cool jutsu with our ninken. I have three ninken, the Haimaru Triplets, they're at home though. All the members of my clan have these fang markings on their cheeks." She pointed a finger at the said markings. "When I graduate from the Academy I want to be a veterinarian. I like helping animals. Are you gonna go to the Academy? What do you want to do when you graduate from the Academy? Are you a civilian or do you come from a clan like me?"

Kimi stared at the girl with wide eyes as she tried to comprehend the onslaught of questions. "Uh, I want to be a medic-nin like Win-shishou, but I want to be able to fight an' do cool jutsu like my daddy an' mommy an' Kashi-kun an' Mina-sensei an' Aunty Kushina an' Shisui-nii-chan."

"You know you talk a lot for a two year old," Hana commented. "So what clan are you from?"

"Uh," the girl paused not knowing what to do. After the most recent clan meeting, it had been decided that the girl would be allowed to use the clan name and wear the clan symbol, but she could not tell of her relation to the main family. Fugaku and Mikoto had vehemently protested, but it was only the five of them – Fugaku, Mikoto, Itachi, Shisui, and Kagami – against the rest of the clan. "I'm fwom the Uchiha Clan."

"Really," Hana exclaimed. "Wow! When we're older, I want to fight you. I bet you're going to be awesome! But I heard that the girls don't awaken the Sharingan, and if they do it's extremely rare."

"Hana-chan," a voice shouted. "We're leaving already!"

"Well looks like I gotta go now. Bye Kim-chan. Maybe we can play again tomorrow." Kimi watched as the older girl ran in the direction of her mother, and gave a sigh.

"She smells like a dog," Blaze commented as he walked up to the Uchiha who was still attempting to swing. "Kinda like that masked freak you have a crush on."

"Kashi-kun is not a fweak," the Uchiha girl shouted indignantly.

"You don't deny that you have a crush on him," the black cat commented.

"H-He's my fwiend," she stuttered as her face began to take on a red hue. The kitten sat down beside her and gave her a blank stare. Kimi glared at the kitten but it came out as more of a pout. When the cat began to laugh at her, she stepped on his tail until he cried _Uncle_.

After lifting her foot off Blaze's tail, she looked up at the sky. The sky was a mix of oranges, pinks, and purples. From where she was standing, she could see the sun going down behind the Hokage Monument. Her eyes landed on the fourth head with the spiky head of hair and she smiled. She remembered what she had wanted to do before getting distracted by her new friend. Quickly making her way out of the park, she finally began her search for Kushina and Minato. She knew the best place to look for Minato was in his office, and wherever Minato was, Kushina was. With that in mind, she and her cat made their way towards the back of the village.

**XxX**

In small building located a great distance away from the Hidden Leaf Village, Kushina lay on a table panting, trying to catch her breath. Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead, the bridge of her nose, and her chin. With one final push, the cry of an infant sounded throughout the room. Breathing hard, she began to open her violet eyes. When the sound of a baby crying reached her ears, her eyes widened and began to water.

Minato stood off to the side wearing a what only can be described as a stupid look on his face. His blue eyes were wide with wonder as he stared at his wife's sweaty and tired face. Even if she was covered in sweat and, her hair was in a disarray, she stilled looked beautiful.

"You did it," he whispered in awe, his eyes shining in the light the torches provided. His mouth was stretched into a wide smile as he started to laugh causing his shoulders to shake. He rubbed away the tears that threatened to spill out with the sleeve of his blue long-sleeved shirt. His eyes snapped open as he exclaimed, "I'm a father now!"

"It's a healthy baby boy," a woman's voice announced. The voice belonged to Biwako Sarutobi, the wife of the Sandaime Hokage. Her long brown hair was worn in a ponytail. She wore a smile on her slightly aged face as she looked down at the bundled baby held in her arms. Standing behind Biwako was a tall woman dressed in a medic's uniform named Taiji.

"Naruto," the blonde Hokage called out as the Sandaime's wife walked towards his wife. He wanted to get a look at his newly born son.

"No touching," the brown haired woman snapped at Minato as he was about to lift his son out of her arms. The blonde man froze with a look of shock on his face with his mouth hanging open. Biwako gave him a stern look. "The first face he should see is his mother's!" With that said, she walked passed him leaving him saddened and frowning looking like a scolded child and towards the redhead. The woman reached the edge of the table where Kushina rested, and held out the baby boy for her to see.

"Naruto," the tired red haired woman whispered, "It's nice to meet you." The baby was crying exposing his gummy mouth. He had a head full of blonde hair the same color as Minato's. Kushina was certain that if he opened his eyes, she would be met with eyes as blue as the ocean. His cheeks were a rosy color, and had three little whisker-like marks on either cheek. Tear fell freely from the woman's eyes as she took in the sight of her son for the first time. She could not believe that the baby boy in front of her face was her own, that he was the product of hers and Minato's love. She never knew she could meet someone for the first and know in an instant that she loved him and would do or give anything for him.

"You should get some rest now," Biwako stated as she lifted up the baby and made her way towards the back of the room to get him cleaned off.

"Kushina, are you okay," Minato asked as he placed a hand over hers.

"Yeah," she replied softly.

"Thank you," he whispered to her. His eyes were once again filling up with tears as he softly smiled down at her.

"Minato," his wife whispered to him as she returned his smile with one of her own. Their eyes met, and all the emotions they were feeling seemed to pass onto the other.

"All right," Minato shouted as he punched a fist into his palm. "It'll be hard since you just gave birth, but I'll do my best to completely suppress the Kyuubi!" He placed his right hand directly on top of the seal that held back the Nine Tailed Fox. Just as he was about to redo the seal, he was interrupted by two screams. His head snapped to the back of the room in time to see the two women fall to the ground. "Biwako-sama! Taiji!"

"Yondaime Hokage Minato, step away from the Jinchuriki," a raspy voice ordered. Minato and Kushina's heads snapped in the direction the voice had come from. Minato had turned his whole body around while Kushina was only able to turn her head. Their eyes widened when they saw the cloaked man holding their son letting out gasps of surprise. They could not see the man's face due to the mask he was wearing. "Otherwise, this boy's life will have lasted less than one minute."

_How did he get past the barrier,_ Minato thought as he glared coldly at the masked man. _Who the hell is he?_ He shifted into a battle stance only to be side tracked when his wife screamed in pain. "Kushina!" He could see how the seal began to loosen and spread over her body causing her to convulse. _The Kyuubi's seal is still weak._

"I told you to step away from the Jinchuriki," the masked man warned as he pulled out a kunai from his sleeve and held it up to the baby's face as Naruto continued to cry. "Don't you care about your child?"

"Wait! Just calm down," Minato shouted starting to panic.

"Heed your own words Minato," the masked man chided. "I'm as calm as can be." He then tossed the bundled baby up in the air.

"Naruto," Kushina screamed in fear as she watched her son be thrown up. She saw the masked man jump up after him with his kunai raised to strike. Before the man could reach Naruto, Minato sprang into action and caught the infant using his chakra to stick to the wall.

"You really are the Yellow Flash," the masked man commented as he landed on his feet. "But what about this?" He raised his hand in a seal, and set off the paper bombs attached to the blanket that was wrapped around the baby.

Minato's eyes widened as he felt the sparks from the paper bombs on his hand. He faintly heard his wife shout his and his son's name in fear. Right before the bombs could go off he jumped off the wall and quickly pulled the orange blanket away from his son while teleporting them to a different location. As he landed on his feet in a crouch, he threw the blanket behind him and jumped out of the building just as the paper bombs exploded. He flipped himself midair so that he would land on his backside and not crush Naruto beneath him. Naruto continued to cry as he looked him over and sighed in relief saying, "Good, Naruto's not hurt." He looked at his ankle where a piece of wood had gotten stuck. "I had to resort to my Hiraishin no Jutsu already."

_He's after Kushina,_ he thought as he pulled the piece of wood out of his ankle. _He succeeded in separating us._ He flicked the piece of wood away. _I have to hurry._ Before the wood could hit the ground, he was gone only to reappear in a room.

**XxX**

Elsewhere, at what seemed to be a beach, the masked man restrained Kushina by her wrists. Her head hung as the final seal was in place. Sweat dripped down her face as she stared at the masked man. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm going to extract the Kyuubi from you, and destroy Konoha," he simply said to her, causing her eyes to widen.

"What," she whispered.

"Minato's Hiraishin allows him to teleport between locations where he had placed seal markers," the man stated as he eyed the seal on Kushina's stomach. "It also appears that he placed on of those markers on your seal. He is constantly protecting you, but I have separated you two now. Moreover, the Kyuubi's seal has weakened after you gave birth." He narrowed his eye as he whispered, "I have long awaited this moment."

**XxX**

Back in the room, Minato laid the baby down on the bed and covered him with the white blanket. "You'll be safe here. I'll be back soon, Naruto." He got a serious look on his face as he said, "I have to go save your mother now.

**XxX**

The masked man entered Kushina's mindscape and came face to face with the Kyuubi. Using his Sharingan, he began to undo the chains that held the fox in place. Kushina's mouth was open wide in a silent scream and her eyes had rolled to the back of her head. Her body was covered in a red orange glow from the Kyuubi's chakra. The seal on her midsection turned from a pitch black a purple color.

"Now come out, Kyuubi," the masked man commanded as he released the seal. The Kyuubi's chakra poured out of the seal, and started to take form before the Nine Tailed Fox took form. The fox let out a deafening roar into the night.

The seal disappeared completely from the Uzumaki's body as the last of the demon's chakra was pulled out, and she collapsed on the rock where she had been standing.

"Excellent," the man stated as the fox roared. "Now it's time to face Konohagakure."

"Wait," Kushina called out to him as she lifted her head up. The masked man did not bother to turn and face her.

"The Uzumaki clan really is something," he commented as he paused in his steps. "You're still alive, even after the Bijuu has been extracted." The Kyuubi growled. "You were the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki." He turned his head slightly to face her. "It's only fitting that I kill you with it." With that, the Kyuubi brought his hand down on top of Kushina.

Just before the Kyuubi made contact with the redhead, the blonde haired Hokage used his Hiraishin to get to her in time and teleported them to the top of a nearby tree.

"You really do move like a flash," the man muttered, "But this time, you're too late."

"Minato," Kushina breathed. "Naruto… Is Naruto safe?"

"Yes he's safe," Minato replied with a smile. "I left him in a safe place."

"Thank goodness," she cried. She looked up at him with an expression of anger on her face, although it was slightly muted due to her exhaustion. "Minato, you must stop that man and the Kyuubi, right now. They're heading for Konoha."

Minato turned his head to give the masked man his most deadly glare before he teleported them away to the same room where he had left Naruto.

"Why," Kushina questioned.

"Don't worry about that. Just stay by Naruto," Minato ordered gently as he placed her on the bed beside the sleeping baby boy. Minato watched as Kushina hugged their child close to her body and whispered his name. He clenched his fists at his sides in anger. He knew what had just happened had been a possibility, but he never imagined it would actually happen. He pulled open his closet and started to put on his ninja gear.

"Thank you Minato, go after them" Kushina said to him as he slipped his arm through the sleeves of his white short sleeved haori.

"I'll be back soon."

**XxX**

The sun had completely set and had been replaced by the moon by the time little Kimi had made it to a short distance away from the Hokage's Tower. She was walking down the main road. A gust of wind blew against her face causing her to shiver. Her stomach started to feel as if it was preforming acrobatics. She looked down to where her companion stood. Blaze continued on walking unaware of what she had felt. Maybe she had just imagined it all, but that sick feeling would not leave her stomach.

She looked around her to see if someone else had felt the sense of foreboding. There was no such luck. The other villagers carried on like they would normally do. People were walking in and out of stores and restaurants. She even saw a man helping another who seemed to intoxicated to walk. Other children were running around playing games. She even saw a few ninja wandering around. Maybe Kakashi was somewhere in the crowd. She could never be too sure. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary so what did she have a feeling of dread? Was it because her parents couldn't find her? Was it that when they did find her she would be in trouble? No, it couldn't be because of that. She was always getting into trouble and she knew the feeling that she got before she would be punished well. What she was feeling was something else entirely.

A flash of white caught her attention.

"Can't we just stick to Rock-Paper-Scissors tonight," the flash of white said to the green thing. She was soon able to make out the flash of white to be Kakashi and the green thing to be his friend Gai.

"Again? Can't you think of a more passionate duel," the spandex wearing teen exclaimed with his fists clenched in front of him. From where she was standing, Kimi could see small green flames burning in his dark eyes and shivered. "And I call you my rival," Gai shouted in outrage.

Kim let out a few giggles at Kakashi's exasperated look. "We have an early morning tomorrow, so let's pass on it the rivalry match for tonight." She saw him give one of his eyes smiles and blushed. She kicked Blaze into a trashcan when she heard him snickering at her reaction. The kitten let out a shriek as he collided with the metal can. He shot a glare at his partner-in-crime.

"Don't use our mission as an excuse," the green bean yelled in anger. "I don't know what to do with all this passionate energy overflowing from within me! It's time to focus on our training like we used to! All that good work will accumulate and lead to our success in future missions!" By that point in his speech Gai was pointing at something Kimi nor Kakashi could see. As the bushy eyebrow teen continued talking, Kakashi had stopped walking.

The young Uchiha giggled nervously. Kakashi most likely caught her. As she was about to walked out towards the white haired teen, Gai ran back in front of Kakashi.

"Are you even listening to me," the teen with the bowl hair cut shouted.

"Hold on Gai," the Hatake said as he turned his head to the side. She knew at that moment that Kakashi had caught her. "Do you feel like something's off? It feels like there's a chill in the air."

_He felt it too,_ Kimi thought.

"Yeah, It's your attitude," Gai yelled making a scene, although no one really paid him any attention. "Our springtime of youth only comes once!"

**XxX**

Over at the Uchiha District Itachi sat outside on the back porch holding Sasuke in his lap. The five-year-old Uchiha stared up that the moon with critical eyes. His eyes narrowed.

"What's this feeling," he questioned. Sasuke began to cry. "There, there," he soothed the baby in his arms.

_I don't like this feeling. Why did mom and dad have to go out now? Where did Imouto go? I hope she's at least with Kakashi. I know that members of the clan take turns watching after her, but they won't really do anything to protect her. Not like Kakashi would._

"Don't worry Sasuke-kun, Imouto wherever you are," Itachi spoke to the baby. "No matter what, your big brother's here to protect you."

**XxX**

Kimi was about to make her way towards Kakashi and his strange friend when a loud roar sounded throughout the village. From above she could see a large cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, her eyed widened in horror. Her entire body began to tremble as she took in the sight of the Nine Tailed Fox. She had never seen something so menacing before. Even from where she stood, she could feel the large amounts of hatred rolling off the fox in waves. She saw the fox raise one of its paws and smash it into a building.

Villagers ran away from the Kyuubi as the Shinobi ran towards it. She was frozen on the spot and got trampled by the stampede of people trying to flee the scene. She rolled over onto her side and hid in an abandoned stall. Tears were falling down her face. She wanted nothing more than to run to her parents but they were not around. She wanted to be at home with her brothers. Kakashi was the closest refuge she could seek, but she could not get her body to move. When she opened her moth to call out to Kakashi all that would come out were gasps.

"Listen up, Kyuubi," the green bean shouted at the monster. "All of my boiling energy is about to break free!"

"Don't just rush in Gai," Kakashi warned as he glared at the beast.

"Come, I'll be your opponent," Gai screamed while striking a pose on one leg.

_Is this what it means to be a ninja? I don't wan'na be a ninja no more! I wan'na go home! _She looked up at the fox. _But didn't Aunty Kushina say that this thing was inside of her? Why is it out here? What about Naruto-kun? I have to find them. I have to be strong like Nii-san and Kakashi-kun! I can't run away!_ With her resolve strengthened the two-year-old Uchiha stood up and ran through the stall towards the Kyuubi while trying her best to remain unseen.

"Wait," she heard a voice shout. She stopped, but the order was not directed at her. It was directed at Kakashi and Gai. "Go to the guardroom, now! It's an order from the Sandaime!" With that said, Kakashi and Gai ran to their designated area.

Kakashi stopped having sensed a familiar chakra signature but was pulled onwards by Gai. He did not have time to think before they were running at full speed. He could not figure out who the chakra belonged to.

All around the village Shinobi were ushering the civilians to safety as they prepared to take on the Kyuubi. Kimi could see ninja jumping up and down trying to distract the beast. They threw every kind of weapon she could think of, but they did nothing to deter tailed beast and only served to aggravate him more than he already was. The beast lashed out at the Shinobi leaving trails of fire in his wake.

Tears ran down her face and she had no idea what she could do to help out, but she still ran onwards. She wanted to protect the village in any way she could just like the other ninja. She was completely unaware of the fact that her eyes were glowing red with a single red tome spinning madly. She was fast approaching the area of the village where Kyuubi stood.

A warm feeling fluttered through her chest, and she turned her head to face the Hokage Monument. She could just make out a figure standing on top of the Yondaime's head. _Minato-sensei! _As it would turn out, someone else had spotted Minato. That someone turned out to be the Kyuubi. Kimi saw the giant fox open its mouth wide as if he were going to scream, but he didn't. Instead, a dark purple ball similar to Minato's Rasengan started to take form. The Kyuubi released the ball and it went straight through the village. When it reached the Hokage Monument it slowed down and then disappeared only to reappear somewhere in the distance.

**XxX**

"How do I tell Sandaime everything that's transpired," Minato whispered to himself from atop his statue. Just as he said that, he felt a presence behind him and struck with a three-pronged kunai. He aimed for the masked man's head, but his kunai slipped right through, and the man caught his arm in a vice-like grip.

"I'm your opponent, and you've lost," the masked man stated. The masked man then activated a jutsu that started to suck Minato in, but Minato was faster and teleported away. "He's fast enough to fly away. I'll have to trap him faster next time, the moment we meet." The masked man made a hand seal.

Minato had teleported to the same building he had when teleporting Naruto away, landing on his stomach. He started to get up. _My attack slipped through him, but her was able to rematerialize and pulled me in. What kind of jutsu was that?_ He looked up with a gasp as he sensed a chakra signature. The masked man swirled into existence.

"You're not getting away," the masked man said chuckling.

_He can use space-time Ninjutsu as well? Was that how he was able to get Kushina and disappear so quickly? _The blonde Hokage stood up, pulling his kunai out of the ground. He stood directly in front of the masked man. _He took out the ANBU under the Sandaime's command, slipped past the barrier, and knew the Kyuubi's seal would weaken during childbirth. He removed the Kyuubi's seal and tamed it. _The image of another ninja popped into his mind. _Not to mention he moved in and out of Konoha undetected. There is only one Shinobi I know who can do all that._ Looking directly at the masked man he asked, "Are you Uchiha Madara?" The man pulled down the hood of his cloak. "That's impossible. He's dead."

"Are you so sure about that," the masked man questioned cocking his head to the side.

"It doesn't matter who you are," Minato stated with a hard glare. "Why are you targeting Konoha?"

"You could say I did it on a whim," the masked man replied tilting his head back, "Or that I planned it, or that I seek war, or that I seek peace."

Minato shifted into a battle stance when he heard the chains fall from the others man's hands. He lifted his kunai in front of himself. _It does not matter who he is. He not the usual opponent. He can control the Kyuubi, and his space-time jutsu is greater than mine or the Nidaime's. He also has dangerous plans. If I don't take care of him here, he'll cause even more destruction than the Kyuubi! _He watched as the masked man placed shackles onto his wrists. _If I head back to the village, he'll just follow me. Just like Madara, he shouldn't be able to hold the Kyuubi for too long. I have to take him down here!_

"Now that I've released the Kyuubi your village is doomed," the masked man said in what seemed to be an arrogant tone before he charged at Minato.

Minato ran at him with his kunai poised to strike, but when he reached the masked man, he went straight through him and ended up getting caught by the other man's chains. Before the masked man could move the blonde teleported away. In his mind he began to work out the finer details of his opponent's jutsu. He deduced that in order for him to land an hit he would have to strike at the same time as the other man. The blonde then jumped to his feet and charged at the masked man. He threw his kunai and it slipped through the other man's head. When the masked man made a grab for him he formed a Rasengan and teleported to his kunai. Once he was over the masked man, he slammed the larger-than-normal Rasengan down on his opponent creating a crater. He then placed a seal on the man's exposed skin on his back.

The masked man jumped out of the ruble and took to higher ground. He clutched his injured left arm panting hard as his left hand fell away. From his vantage point he could see Minato through the dust. "I see you got me. No wonder they call you a phantom-" Before he could continue, Minato was in front of him and stabbed him with a kunai. "Hiraishin no Jutsu?" _I see. He must have marked me! _He felt a pressure on his chest, and looked down to see a seal. "A contract seal? You're trying to server my control over the Kyuubi?"

"The Kyuubi is no longer under your command," Minato informed the masked man.

**XxX**

Kimi gasped in shock from where she hid behind a tree. She knew for a second that she had seen the Sharingan form within the Kyuubi's eyes before it faded away leaving red slits for pupils. She would recognize her clan's Kekkei Genkai anywhere. When the Kyuubi's changed back to normal he seemed to be angrier than ever as he began a rampage through the village. He sent Shinobi and civilian alike flying through the air. Screams of terror could be heard from all directions. The young Uchiha rethought her plan as the chaos worsened, and decided to run away from the monster fox. She ran towards the outskirts of the village, which turned out to be a bad idea seeing as the ninja were trying to drive out the Kyuubi. She was starting to panic. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and her legs hurt from running. She wished she had gone with Kakashi when she had the chance.

**XxX**

"Listen up," a man called to the group of young Shinobi assembled. "Your generation is to stay away from the Kyuubi."

"What do you mean," a girl with wavy brown hair and red eyes questioned.

"This is not a way between villages," the same man stated. "it is our own calamity. You have no need to risk your lives for this."

"You can't tell us what to do," the same girl shouted in outrage.

"Stand down Kurenai," a teen standing beside her whispered, though she ignored him.

"You are all Shinobi, like me. We do not normally live long lives. But you, as my daughter," he looked down at the girl named Kurenai, "Must pass on the Will of Fire onto my grandchild!" The girl's eyes softened a bit. "At least promise your father that. I have faith in you."

"Kim," Kakashi shouted suddenly causing everyone within the clearing to look at him strangely. His eyes were wide with unadulterated fear and he was visibly shaking.

"Secret," Gai asked confused. "What secret?"

"Not _kimi, _Kim," Kakashi stressed. His legs were tensing in preparation to take off. "She's a weird two year old who has a strange fascination with me."

"Geez, Kakashi don't you think she's a little to young," Asuma commented but he was silenced by a glare from the Hatake.

"Wait you mean that annoying little girl that's always tailing after you," Genma questioned as he pulled the senbon out of his mouth. "Isn't that kid from the Uchiha clan or something?" Everyone listened in on the conversation in interest. Gossip about the Uchiha clan was rare and hard to come by.

"I sensed her chakra right as the Kyuubi attacked," Kakashi said. "She was running-"

"See, the girl probably got to safety," someone commented.

"-In the wrong direction," Kakashi finished causing most to gasp. "You guys don't know Kim. She's always doing something stupid, and with most of the clan hating her she'll do anything to prove herself worthy." He looked at Kurenai's father. "You have to let me go look for her."

"I can't do that," the man said. "These are the Sandaime's orders." That answer did not sit well with Kakashi. The teen grabbed the man by the front of his vest.

"Kakashi man chill-"

"That is not very youthful-"

"I'll be officially enlisted in the ANBU next month. I can die today or sometime after next month," Kakashi growled. "Let me out of this barrier." He dropped the man when he gave the signal for him to be let out of the barrier, and then ran full speed out into the village in search of a troublemaking two-year-old.

**XxX**

Kimi's heart as it was going to jump out of her chest at any moment. She had somehow ended up on the other side of the Kyuubi, the farthest away from the village. The hatred flowing of the Nine Tails was nothing like what she had felt when she was a safe distance away. In that moment, she made a promise to herself. If she survived, she will never let hatred become such a big part of her life. She knew that feeling hate was inevitable in order to protect love, but she would never let it consume her.

The Kyuubi took a step back. He was getting closer to where she was hiding. She would not allow herself to be afraid anymore. She turned on her heel and ran from the Kyuubi. She had not traveled more than six feet, when a giant toad appeared and landed on top of the Kyuubi. The force from the hit caused the ground to shake, and the little girl to lose her balance. From where she sat, not even a foot away from the Kyuubi, she could make out the distinctive form of Namikaze Minato standing on the head of the giant toad. She knew that with Minato there, he would take down the Kyuubi, but she needed to vacate the area. She stood up but the ground shook and she clutched onto the giant fox's fur.

She felt a strange sensation and closed her eyes. When she opened her ebony orbs, she realized she was in a different location.

"I need to put a barrier up," Minato said from the front of the fox. Kim let go of the fox when she heard his voice. She tripped and fell under some broken boards when she tried to walk in his direction.

"I can still do it Minato," Kushina informed her husband, her breathing ragged. Golden chakra chains appeared and restrained the Nine Tailed Fox.

Kimi was stuck. She could not move due to the boards lying on top of her small form. She could not talk due to the crushing weight making it hard to breathe. She turned her head to the side, and was able to see Minato and Kushina with baby Naruto. She smiled through the pain and gave a silent laugh. She was only two years old, what exactly did she expect to do. Save the village from the Kyuubi by herself when she had only just started ninja training.

She looked at the family of three and listened in on their conversation. She really could not hear much, but she got the gist of it. Her Aunty Kushina and Uncle Minato were going to die in order to save the village and protect Naruto.

Minato worked to seal the Yang half of the Kyuubi's chakra into Naruto. It was when he moved to seal the Yin half within himself that something strange happen, although he never noticed it. Kimi's Sharingan had evolved from having only one tomo to two. Her Sharingan began to spin wildly when Minato began to seal the Yang half within himself. There was a bright flash of light and Minato and Kushina along with the Yin half of the Kyuubi were gone.

Kimi lost consciousness as Naruto began to cry.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I am soooo sorry for the long wait! Though compared to other authors on this site it would be considered a regular or fast update. All I can really say is that my college algebra class is seriously kicking my ass right now. Algebra has never been one of my strong points. Another reason is that I try to make it a point to never post a chapter under 2,300 words. The last reason is that I've been sick for the past two days. Thank Kami-sama I don't have any classes on Thursdays and Fridays!**

**Thank you to my chapter ten reviewers: Summer time 10101, hello-totoro-ninja, Musical cake, and Coolestbee. Sorry I couldn't respond to you guys individually!**

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"Shh, it's okay," the five-year-old boy whispered to the crying baby boy in his arms. No matter what he tried, he could not calm the baby down. He checked the baby diaper, fed him, and he even went so far as to bathe him in the little tub his mother kept under the sink for such purposes. Nothing he tried worked to calm his brother, and he was starting to panic. He felt that he too might start crying along with the baby.

Itachi still did not know where his parents were. His sister still seemed to be missing, but he knew that wherever she was Kakashi would find her – that is, if he had not gotten himself killed. He had seen the giant fox from where he had been sitting, and when the infuriated fox had disappeared, he hoped that his parents, and his sister – and the white haired teen to some extent – were all right. He did not know what he would do if something were to happen to any of his precious people.

He had a feeling that his little sister had done something incredibly stupid - he had a sixth sense for those types of things. He first discovered his newfound sixth sense when she had gone on a pranking spree with his mother's redheaded best friend.

The young Uchiha heir remembered hearing whispers about a breach in security before his parents had left along with the rest of the clan.

"Kaa-san and Tou-san will be back soon, and so will sister," Itachi whispered to the suddenly calm Sasuke. Without his brother's cries penetrating the air, he was able to notice that everything had gone quiet. He could no longer hear the shouts and explosions that came from fighting the Kyuubi. Now that he thought of it, he could no longer hear the roars of the Kyuubi.

He closed his eyes and when he reopened them, they glowed in the darkness of the compound. The two tomo that surrounded his pupils spun slowly as he scanned the area. There was no one within the district other than his brother himself, the other Uchiha children, and a few shinobi that had been thrown into the grounds – some had died on impact while a few had managed to survive. Seeing shinobi die was not something new to the young Uchiha.

The first time he had witnessed death had been when he was four, a few months before his little sister came into the picture. His parents had asked Shisui to watch him for the day while they took care of some important clan matters, and he had wandered off on his own while his cousin had been too busy talking to a group of girls. While he was busy roaming the main street of the village, he had accidentally gotten mixed up with a group of traveling merchants and ended up leaving the village with them. One of the couples had mistaken him for one of their children – there were enough children to fill up a classroom – and loaded him up on the cart with the other children.

The group had only been halfway to Tanzaku Quarters when they had gotten down to rest. There one of the women did a head check, and realized they had an extra child. The group did not even have time to wonder where the extra child came from when four Iwa-nin dropped down from the surrounding trees. What happened next opened Itachi's eyes to the harshness of the world in more ways than one. When the Iwa-nin had noticed that there was an Uchiha child – mainly due to the fact that said child had activated his Sharingan – among the group they had decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and took him with them. Luckily, for the four year old, Shisui had notified the Hokage that he had gone missing and the Hokage sent his student – who was a skilled tracker – after his trail. It did not take long for the young Jonin to find him, and take out the enemy. After that, the young Jonin had to carry him back to the village since he had lost consciousness sometime during the battle.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Itachi looked up at the sky with narrowed eyes. _What happened out there? This sudden calmness is unsettling._

**XxX**

It felt as if the temperature had dropped to below the freezing point. His body gave a slight shiver as he continued his search for the missing troublemaking two year old. If the situation had been different, the white haired Jonin would have berated himself for how he lost his temper back in the clearing with the others of his generation. He shook his head to clear his mind of wandering thoughts. He needed to focus. He needed to keep his senses open and spread out as far as he could stretch them.

A subtle scent of cherries mixed with a scent he recognized as carnations wafted towards his nose. The scent itself was very faint and seemed to be fading with every passing second. He pushed more chakra to his nose hoping to further strengthen his already sensitive sense of smell. It worked. The scent was a great distance away from the village, though he paid no mind to that fact as he continued to race through the village gates. He also chose to ignore the odd stares and shouts of his name as he passed by large groups of puzzled older Shinobi and the Sandaime Hokage.

Kakashi had only one goal in mind, and that was finding his missing tagalong.

He stopped sending extra amounts of Chakra towards his nose, and pulled his mask off his face instead. Others often told him that his natural sense of smell could rival those of the Inuzuka clan. There had been very few times that he was grateful for that fact, and the current situation was becoming one of them.

He shook his head ridding himself of his wandering thoughts. He needed to focus on finding a certain trouble making Uchiha that had taken a strange interest in him. He dully noted that he was being followed. He did not look back to see who it was and continued to run. He pumped Chakra into his legs and picked up his speed. Most Shinobi made fun of his small size, but for what he lacked in physical strength he made up for in speed. Without even realizing it, he had left the group that had been tailing him a great distance away and struggling to keep up with his new pace.

The white haired teen continued to run, the chilled wind slicing at his face. The feeling of the wind on his bare face was almost a foreign one. He could not remember a time when he had not worn his mask. Strange feeling or not, he was glad that the wind was blowing the scent towards him.

The scent began to grow stronger and more potent, although it seemed to be growing weaker at the same time. No, weak was not the best way to describe it. The scent usually had a warm feeling surrounding it, but it seemed to be losing its warmth and becoming cold. Living things always had a warm feeling accompanying their scents. The fact that the scent was losing its warmth set Kakashi on edge. He tried his best not to panic but it showed in the way he picked up his seed. Chakra was pumped furiously into his short legs and his muscles strained to propel him further. He slowed his pace to a walk as he entered a large dirt clearing.

He took a deep breath. There was a second scent. It was similar to two other scents he was familiar with yet completely different, unique. On a slab of rock, swaddled in an orange blanket was a wailing infant. The white haired teen slowly walked towards the baby. With a single glace at the child, he knew who he was. He hesitantly put a hand to the child's face. The child immediately calmed down and stared at him with innocent blue eyes so much like his fathers. The teen felt his chest constrict. He did a quick scan of the immediate area. There was no one around. Where were his sensei and his redheaded wife?

There!

He spotted a small flicker of Chakra with his Sharingan eye. With a quick glance at the baby, he leapt over to where he caught the movement of Chakra. When he landed, all he could see was piles of rocks and debris from a fallen building. If he had to guess, he would say that the building had exploded. He spotted a tiny hand under a pile of boards. His heartbeat picked up its pace as he began to worry. Crouching down, he slid his hands under the boards. They were too heavy to move. He ended up lifting them up slightly with his right arm, and with his left hand, he pulled on the small arm until the tiny body of a two year old was revealed.

Small cuts and bruises littered her body. With a hard tug, her body flew into his and he dropped the boards he was supporting.

"Ngh," she let out a soft groan into his chest.

Kakashi let out a breath he did not know he was holding as he wrapped his arms around the girl's significantly smaller shivering body. Standing up he carried the girl over to where the crying baby was and sat down.

"Hey," he whispered. "Wake up." The dark haired girl gave a slight twitch. He gently shook her until her eyes fluttered open. Gently, he helped her get in to a sitting position on his lap.

She had yet to say a word, which was strange considering she was always taking even when she had just woken up. She just sat on his lap staring at nothing in particular. Her eyes were half-lidded and dull. Her movements were slow and timid nothing like her normal fast and fluid movements. She snuggle her body closer to the white haired Jonin's and rested her cheek on his chest.

Kakashi often found himself for getting that the two year old was just that, a two year old. She had a tendency to act older than what she was. She was always hyper aware of her surroundings. She was a fast learner. The list went on. She had the potential to be called a prodigy in the making. That was why Kakashi started to worry when he felt hot tears seeping through his shirt.

The white haired teen scooted back until his back hit the rock slab. He reached around and pulled the baby down onto his lap. From the seal on the baby's stomach, he knew that his sensei had resealed the Kyuubi within the boy. Without the Kyuubi, he knew the fiery redhead was gone, and he knew that his sensei was too.

He felt a lump form in his throat. It felt as if he dry swallowed a large pill and it had gotten stuck. No matter how many timed he tried to swallow down the lump it would not go away. He felt a burning sensation in his eyes. At first, he tried blaming it on the wind hitting his eyes, but he gave up on lying to himself. Soon he felt his own hot tears streaming down his cheeks. His tears soon turned into sobs. He hugged the two small forms on his lap closer to his body seeking comfort. He had just lost two more people he cared about.

Why did everyone around him end up dead? Was he cursed? Did death follow him like a shadow, killing off the people who dared to care about him?

"Kakashi," the voice of the third Hokage called out to him. Said boy looked up at the man with bleary eyes. "Where are Minato and Kushina?"

"They're gone," was all the teen was able to get out before he was overcome by his sobs.

A few of the other Jonin shook their heads at the teen's blatant display of emotion. The Sandaime waved them off and sent them back to the village, leaving only the clan heads behind.

"Kakashi," Fugaku called out, stunning the others. He walked towards the small form of the thirteen-year-old boy. The man crouched down in front of the boy and looked him over. Normally Kakashi would have shifted awkwardly under them man's stare but he was too distraught to really care. "Let me take her." He held out his hands for his daughter, but the boy pulled the two children closer. Fugaku looked up when he felt a hand placed on his shoulder.

"It's okay Fugaku," Mikoto said softly. She had to remain calm even though she wanted nothing more than to bawl her eyes out since she had just lost her closest friend. She looked down at the baby in the teens arms and allowed a few tears to escape her eyes. She saw the resemblance between the boy and her former teammate.

"He's their son," Mikoto stated in a soft whisper as she clutched onto her husband's shoulders for support. "It's Naruto."

Hiruzen did a quick scan of the area. There was no one around aside from their small group. On the ground he spotted a discarded scroll. He walked over towards the scroll and picked it up off the ground. Looking over it he recognized it as a summoning scroll. Upon closer inspection he found that it was a summoning scroll for a Shinigami. The worst part of his discovery was that the scroll had recently been activated. His face took on a stoic appearance. "We need to head back to the village."

The two Uchiha nodded their heads in agreement. Mikoto managed to coax Kakashi into letting her carry the baby, and Fugaku managed to get Kimi. Kakashi stood on his feet. The four walked over to where the other Jonin stood and led them back to the village.

**XxX**

Three days had passed since the Kyuubi's rampage through the village. Shinobi and civilians alike began the reconstruction of the damaged areas of the village. A funeral was held for the Yondaime and the ninja whose lives were lost in the attack. The Sandaime had been reinstated as Hokage. The past three days were busy ones.

After the Yondaime's funeral Kakashi had refused to leave his apartment. Kimi still had not uttered a single word since that night. The two would constantly wake up in the middle of the night due to frequent nightmares.

Hiruzen still did not know what to do about the situation with Naruto. The orphanage refused to take in what they consider to be the demon fox itself and almost all his Shinobi were the same.

Then there was the fact that Danzo and the Village Elders believed that the Uchiha clan were behind the Nine Tails Attack.

"Hiruzen you can't be serious," Danzo stated bluntly as he stared down at his former teammate.

"Mikoto and Fugaku are the only ones willing to do it," the Sandaime reasoned with his friend.

"We can't trust them with the Jinchuriki! They're the prime suspects for the attack!"

"The Uchiha clan had not part in the recent attack. Mikoto and Fugaku were especially close to Minato and Kushina. I do not believe they would do that to their own friends."

"They're Uchiha who knows what they would do to obtain power."

"Danzo," Hiruzen said giving his friend a hard look. The man was beginning to get fed up with the other man's accusations on a well-trusted clan. A clan that helped set the foundation for the very village they now strived to protect. "The Uchiha are a loyal clan to this village. Even if what you suggest is true, they have an alibi. There was a disturbance in the Uchiha District right before the attack. Fugaku believes that whoever unleashed the Kyuubi entered through Uchiha District grounds."

"Likely story," Danzo scoffed before taking his leave.

**A/N: I started to write this chapter at around 8am and I finished it at 4:49pm. What do you guys want to see in the next chapter?**

**Please REVIEW guys!**

**CherryHearts13**


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